Opening Days for 2025

We are open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and daily in Bucks school holidays from Saturday 8 March to Thursday 30 October 2025. Our opening times are 10am until 5pm.

Tickets are available to book on the door (while avilable). Pre-book your tickets online in advance you can save up to £1 per ticket.

We will also be opening for our Halloween Spectacular on Friday 31 October and for a special Festive Weekend on 6 and 7 December. 

Ticket Types

If the ticket date isn't showing as available under standard admission and is an open day, it will be a Premium Day and you will need to select the event on the general admission page to book.

School Holiday Opening Dates
We are open daily throughout these dates.

Easter 29th March to 15th April
May half-term 25th May to 2nd June
Summer holidays 20th July to 8th September
October half-term 26th October to 31st October (From Sunday 27th October we will be closing at the earlier time of 4pm).

Promotional Offers

If you have a valid 2 for 1 promotional voucher/card, including Gardener's World, this can only be used against tickets purchased on the door and not online tickets. One promotional card/voucher can be used for two people only and cannot be used for group entry. Gardener's World 2 for 1 and Historic Houses Membership can only be used on our standard admission days.

Catering

Hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, sausage rolls, ice creams, cakes, and snacks can be purchased from our Skippings Barn. We have lots of picnic tables and lots of space for picnic blankets around our site.

You may wish to bring some spare change with you to roll into our well where you can hear our well spirits talk!

Mobility Scooters

We have mobility scooters that can be borrowed. Please email us on enquiries@coam.org.uk to check availability and book.

Dogs

Dogs on short leads are very welcome on site. Dogs are not allowed to go inside any of our furnished exhibit buildings.

Gift Aid

The Museum is a charity and all admission prices include a voluntary donation of 10%. If you are a UK tax payer please tick the box and fill out your details so that we can claim Gift Aid on your admission. Gift Aid donations to the Museum allow us to claim an extra 25% from the government on the total amount that you pay to us, at no extra cost to you.

Tickets are non-refundable but if you contact us at least 24 hours prior to the start of your booked slot we can reschedule your booking for you.

A knitting and wool craft event

Join us for our special Wild About Wool knitting event and discover different types of textile crafts. Chat to our experts about your knitting conundrums, learn about peg looms, see a sock knitting machine in action and learn about the importance of knitting for the troops on the home front during WWI.

Visit our Home Front reenactors and out about the role of knitting in the Great War, the manufacture of Soldier’s woollen comforts and their distribution to the men, and women, at the front by the British Red Cross and First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.

All activities are weather dependent and subject to change.

This is a standard admission day. Free entry for COAM Annual Members

Diwali celebration at Chiltern Open Air Museum

This Diwali, join us at Chiltern Open Air Museum, as the Festival of Lights returns for its second year with an even brighter celebration!

There’ll be something for all the family to enjoy:

Indian Drumming and singing with musicologist Dr Anjuli Sharma Tiwari  

Storytelling with Dr Geeta Ludhra 

Bollywood/Zumba with Irshad Ali Shaik  

Rangoli designs, diyas decorating and henna body art with Harsha Basu  

Sari and dhoti dress up with Sejal Sachdev 

Lantern-making with Alan Horton   

Delicious Indian food by Bollywood Bites

This event is kindly funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. We would also like to thank our community partners for their support.

Our Halloween Spectacular is back on Friday 31 October from 5pm to 9pm.

Early bird tickets are available now until 30th September.

Come and join us for an evening of spooky fun.

See our buildings dressed up spooctacularly, listen to spine tingling storytelling, watch out for the spooky horses, warm yourself up by the bonfire & toast some marshmallows, and brave the scary walk but watch out for monsters!

Enjoy the amazing fire-performance and take part in family activities.

There will be two time slots for admissions one at 5pm and one at 6pm.

Please pre-book your tickets.

Come and see the museum’s collection of historic buildings traditionally decorated for Christmas with ivy, natural foliage, and candles. The 1940s Prefab will show how people celebrated a restrained wartime Christmas enlivened by make-do-and-mend decorations. Within the buildings you will find costumed stewards carrying out activities and telling visitors what life would have been like for past inhabitants.

The Ragged Victorians re-enactors will be on-site demonstrating what life would have been like for poor Victorians.

Meet Father Christmas and listen to him reading a story. Hear local choirs and musicians performing seasonal tunes.

There will be artisan craft stalls full of locally made products as well as stalls from the traveling historical market. The Museum’s shop will be stocked with items that would make great Christmas gifts. Families can have-a-go at candle-making for a small additional charge, listen to festive storytelling and take part in Christmas themed craft activities.

Visit our festive photo studio and have a Christmas portrait taken by our professional photographer. The 10min session is free as part of your admission fee - digital images and prints will be available to buy within 7 days of the session. Participants have no obligation to buy any images.

Activities and entertainment schedule subject to change.

Open each day from 10am to 4pm.