Five free Birnbeck Pier events run from 15 to 20 September in Weston, with only 45 seats at each museum talk. A giant cardboard pier follows on 26 September.

Five free events about Birnbeck Pier run in Weston-super-Mare between 15 and 20 September, and three of them need booking in advance. The two talks at Weston Museum are capped at 45 people each. (North Somerset Council, 27 August)

They are part of Heritage Open Days, which runs nationally from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September. A week later, on Saturday 26 September, a full-size cardboard version of the pier is due to go up in Prince Consort Gardens.

For a pier that has been shut for 32 years and is currently a construction site, this is the closest thing to public access there has been.

What is on, and how to book

  • Tuesday 15 September, 2.30pm, Weston Museum, Burlington Street. A council talk on the past, present and future of the pier. Maximum 45 people, pre-booking essential at BirnbeckPierPastPresentFuture.eventbrite.com. (Heritage Open Days listing)
  • Wednesday 16 September, 7pm, Blakehay Theatre, 20 Wadham Street. The two principal contractors on the technical side of the job: Mackley on the pier structure, Smith and Brenson on the landside buildings. Maximum 200, pre-booking essential at BirnbeckMeetTheContractors.eventbrite.com. (Heritage Open Days listing)
  • Thursday 17 September, 2.30pm to 3.30pm, Weston Museum. Military historian Phil Curme on HMS Birnbeck. Maximum 45, pre-booking essential. (Heritage Open Days listing)
  • Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September, former Wilko store, The Sovereign, High Street. Workshops making the building blocks for the cardboard pier. Morning, afternoon and evening sessions, each about three and a half hours. Book by emailing becky@superculture.org.uk. (Heritage Open Days listing)
  • Saturday 19 September, 11am to 3pm, the promenade next to the pier, Birnbeck Road. Meet the project team and volunteers. No booking needed, just turn up. (Heritage Open Days listing)

The council describes tickets as limited and first-come, first-served, so check each Eventbrite page before travelling. Super Culture, which runs the cardboard workshops, lists a longer run than the Heritage Open Days entry does: 18 to 22 September and 24 to 25 September. (Super Culture)

Birnbeck Pier: what is on, and what you have to book All events free. Capacity shown where the organisers have published a limit. Tue 15 Sep Past, present and future talk, Weston Museum 45 places Wed 16 Sep Meet the contractors, Blakehay Theatre 200 places Thu 17 Sep HMS Birnbeck talk, Weston Museum 45 places Fri 18 to Sun 20 Cardboard workshops, the Sovereign book by email Sat 19 Sep Meet the team, promenade by the pier no booking Sat 26 Sep Cardboard pier built, Prince Consort Gardens no booking
Sources: North Somerset Council, 27 August 2026; the Heritage Open Days listings; Super Culture. Graphic by The North Somerset Post.

The cardboard pier

The installation is the work of the visual artist Olivier Grossetete, who builds monumental cardboard structures with the help of whoever turns up, then has them pulled down again.

Super Culture, the Weston arts organisation delivering it, says no experience is needed at the workshops. Participants shape, tape, cut and assemble cardboard into the blocks the pier is made from.

Two local threads run through it. The project is paid for through the social value commitments written into Mackley’s contract with the council, and the cardboard itself has been supplied free by Smurfit Westrock, which has a plant in Weston.

HMS Birnbeck

The 17 September talk covers the least known part of the pier’s history. During the Second World War the Admiralty took the site over and used it as a secret weapons testing base under the name HMS Birnbeck.

Phil Curme’s research into that period was supported by the pier project through the same social value arrangement with Mackley, and the talk is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

What it means for you

  • You still cannot walk on the pier. The Saturday event is on the promenade. The organisers state plainly that there is no access to the landside buildings, the bridge or the island, because the site is being worked on.
  • Book now if you want a talk. Ninety seats exist across the two museum talks. The theatre event is larger at 200.
  • The 26 September build is the one to take children to. It is outdoors, in Prince Consort Gardens, and needs no ticket.
  • Parking: see parking in North Somerset for the town centre car parks nearest the museum and the Sovereign.
  • Other events across the district are listed on our things to do in North Somerset page.

The background

Birnbeck opened in 1867 to a design by Eugenius Birch, and the council describes it as the only pier in the country to link to an island. It is Grade II* listed. Lack of maintenance made it unsafe and it was closed to the public in 1994. It has been on Historic England’s National Heritage at Risk Register since 1998. (Birnbeck Pier project, North Somerset Council)

The restoration is funded by more than £44m from the UK government, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England. The council has said the pier is on track to reopen in summer 2027, and we set out the phases and the money in our report on the reopening.

Councillor Mark Canniford, the cabinet member responsible for the project, said the council wanted “to offer a variety of ways for people to find out more about its history, our restoration project and the future of this nationally important heritage site and attraction”.

The council’s heritage champion, Councillor John Crockford-Hawley, said Heritage Open Days let people “find out more about Weston and its rich heritage in a fun and creative way”.