The splash park and the museum cost nothing, Cromer Windmill is £3, and the Stevenage 80 programme runs to December. Dated events, real prices, opening times.
Stevenage turns 80 this year. It was designated on 11 November 1946 as the first town under the New Towns Act, and the council is marking it with a programme of events running from now until December. That gives an ordinary year an unusual number of dated things to actually turn up to, on top of the parks, the museum and the theatre that are here every week.
Everything below was checked against the venue’s own site on 10 August 2026. Prices and opening times change, so click through before you set off.
Free, and genuinely worth doing
Fairlands Valley Park
120 acres, four lakes, Six Hills Way, SG2 0BL. This is the town’s big green space, and the parts that cost money are the exception rather than the rule. The Splash Park is free to use, with three splash pads of fountains and interactive water features, a refreshments kiosk and public toilets, open 10am to 5pm daily until the end of the school summer holidays. Everyone Active, which runs it, describes the whole facility as free for the public to use.
The Sailing Centre sits on the 11-acre main lake and covers sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, dragon boating and angling, with changing rooms, a classroom and a café. There is also a play area, an outdoor activity centre, conservation areas and woodland. Contact the park on 01438 353241 or FVP@stevenage.gov.uk.
Stevenage Museum
St George’s Way, SG1 1XX. General admission free. Open Wednesday to Friday 10am to 4:30pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm. The current exhibition is “Stevenage Football Club @ 50”, running 4 July to 31 October 2026, marking fifty years of the club. The museum also runs a Stevenage town centre walking tour and a virtual museum, and holds the collections behind the town’s own history. A small charge may apply to some events. Call 01438 218881.
Town Centre Gardens and Event Island
The Town Centre Gardens were laid out in the mid-1960s, a formal ornamental park of mown grass, trees and a pond, with footpaths in from Bedwell and the swimming pool, Bowes Lyon House and the museum all a short walk away.
Event Island is newer and sits in the middle of the town centre on the site of the former bus station. It was built as part of the regeneration programme with new planting, informal play areas, and a stage made from a converted shipping container with hydraulics, integrated lighting and sound, and solar power. Most of the Stevenage 80 events happen here.
The Old Town High Street
The High Street still follows its original layout, which is why the Old Town feels nothing like the rest of Stevenage. Shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs along a flat, walkable street, with free on-street parking for two or three hours depending on the section. Improvement works are under way at the moment, so check our roadworks page before you drive in.
Stevenage 80: what is still to come
The council’s programme runs to the end of the year. These are the public events left on it, from the Stevenage 80 page:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 15 August | Barrio Fiesta | Event Island |
| 22 August | Kidzone | Event Island |
| 12 September | Stevenage International Day | Event Island |
| 2 October | Stevenage 80 Careers Fair | Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre |
| 24 October | Stevenage 80 Youth Show | Gordon Craig Theatre |
| 31 October | Halloween-tastic | Event Island |
| 11 November | The Mayor’s Stevenage 80 Birthday Show | Gordon Craig Theatre |
| 15 November | BUGS Heritage Vehicle Day | Town-wide |
| 21 November | New Town Christmas light switch-on | Event Island |
| 28 November | Old Town Christmas light switch-on | Old Town Bowling Green |
| 5 December | Kidzone | Event Island |
The 11 November show falls on the anniversary itself. For scale, Stevenage Day in June drew more than 30,000 people to King George V Playing Fields, which the council reckons made it one of the largest community events in Hertfordshire. Details of the 2027 event go up in the new year.
Indoors, and after dark
Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre, Lytton Way, SG1 1LZ. A 501-seat auditorium running plays, dance, opera and a pantomime, now operating as part of Everyone Theatres. Box office 01438 363200.
Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre and the Stevenage Swimming Centre are both run by Everyone Active. The Arts & Leisure Centre on Lytton Way has lift access to all floors, six accessible parking bays and a hearing loop.
Stevenage FC play League One football at the Lamex Stadium on Broadhall Way. The club turned 50 this year, which is what the museum’s current exhibition marks.
Worth the short drive
Cromer Windmill, SG2 7QE
Hertfordshire’s only surviving windmill, on the B1037 between Walkern and Cottered, and it is inside the SG2 postcode area even though it is a country lane away from the town. Open mid-May to mid-September, every Sunday, the second and fourth Saturday of the month, and bank holiday Mondays, 2.30pm to 5pm. Admission is £3 for adults and £1 for children, which includes a guided tour, and there is free parking in the field opposite. Cash and cards both accepted. Be warned: there are no toilets and no refreshments at the mill, though Church Farm at Ardeley and the Jolly Waggoner are five minutes away.
Knebworth House
Four miles south, in North Hertfordshire rather than Stevenage borough, and reachable by train from Stevenage in one stop to Knebworth. The house, gardens and park are open daily from 16 July to 6 September 2026, then weekends only from 12 to 27 September. Booking online is cheaper than paying at the gate, and prices are lower until 1 September under the current VAT reduction:
| Ticket (to 1 September) | Online | At the gate |
|---|---|---|
| Gardens and park, one person aged 3+ | £13.60 | £14.50 |
| Gardens and park, family of four | £50.75 | £54.25 |
| House, gardens and park, adult 17 to 64 | £19.70 | £20.60 |
| House, gardens and park, child 3 to 16 or senior 65+ | £18.90 | £20.15 |
| House, gardens and park, family of four | £75.25 | £78.75 |
From 2 September the adult house, gardens and park ticket goes to £22.50 online and the family ticket to £86. A 2026 season ticket is £55, which pays for itself in four gardens-and-park visits.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Stevenage for free?
Fairlands Valley Park and its splash park, Stevenage Museum, the Town Centre Gardens, Event Island and the Old Town High Street all cost nothing, and Old Town on-street parking is free too.
Is Fairlands Valley Splash Park free?
Yes. Everyone Active, which runs it, states that the whole facility is free for the public to use. It opens 10am to 5pm daily through the school summer holidays.
Is Stevenage Museum free?
Yes, general admission is free, though a small charge may apply to some events. It opens Wednesday to Friday 10am to 4:30pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm.
What is on for Stevenage 80?
Eleven public events between now and 5 December, including Barrio Fiesta on 15 August, Stevenage International Day on 12 September and the Mayor’s Stevenage 80 Birthday Show at the Gordon Craig Theatre on 11 November, the anniversary of the town’s designation.
How much is Knebworth House?
£19.70 online for an adult house, gardens and park ticket until 1 September 2026, or £13.60 for gardens and park only. A family of four is £75.25 online. Prices rise from 2 September.
What can you do in Stevenage when it rains?
Stevenage Museum, the Gordon Craig Theatre, the Stevenage Swimming Centre and the Arts & Leisure Centre. Cromer Windmill’s guided tour is indoors too, though the walk from the car park is not.
Sources
- Fairlands Valley Park and Fairlands Valley Splash Park, Everyone Active.
- Stevenage Museum for opening times, the current exhibition and free admission.
- Stevenage 80 for the events calendar and the 11 November 1946 designation, and Stevenage Day for the June attendance.
- Town Centre Gardens and Event Island.
- Gordon Craig Theatre and Stevenage Arts & Leisure Centre.
- Cromer Windmill for season, opening hours and admission.
- Knebworth House opening times and prices.
- Stevenage FC.
Checked 10 August 2026. Confirm with the venue before travelling.
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