Welcome onto campus

Members of the public are welcome to attend our diverse programme of events which showcase the skills of our talented students and the research being undertaken by our staff. We also regularly host guest lectures and performances.   

Each September Royal Holloway welcomes visitors to Heritage Open Day, which is part of England’s largest festival of history and culture.  

Our hugely popular annual Science Festival, has been celebrating science and attracting large audiences for over 20 years.  In December, our Festive Market, with its wide variety of market stalls, festive food and drink and live performances from our students is open to the local community to attend.

Royal Holloway’s renowned Choir offer a free concert every Wednesday lunchtime during term-time and our Department of Music offer other regular music events. 

Local residents are welcome to explore our campus, taking one of our campus walks through the 135 acres of wooded grounds or following our self-led tour guide. The self-guided walk around the arboretum will help you to navigate your way around this special site and learn more about one of the most notable tree collections in Surrey.

With its flamboyant architecture the Grade 1-listed Founder’s Building is one of the most impressive university buildings in the world. Founder’s is home to the Chapel and Picture Gallery containing what is considered to be one of the finest collections of Victorian Art in a private collection. The Picture Gallery is open to visitors every Wednesday from 10am to 3pm in the autumn and spring terms.

The Legal Advice Centre provides free legal advice and information for the local community. Our Centre is student-led, under the supervision of qualified legal professionals. If you require free legal advice or information on the following areas of law, please contact us to book an appointment to see a Student Adviser:

• Contract / consumer
• Landlord and Tenant
• Family
• Welfare Benefits
• Other - If you require information or advice on other areas of law, we may be able to refer you to one of our partner law firms for free initial telephone advice (subject to availability and areas of expertise).

Find out how to book an appointment and when the next session is

The Exhibition Space, located in the new striking and sensitively-designed Emily Wilding Davison Building, features exhibitions ranging from digital technology to the university’s art collection. Our community gym membership gives unlimited access to the 60-station fitness suite and 16 classes. And our Language’s for All is a programme is open to everyone and offers beginners to intermediate modern language courses in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin.  You could also pop along to the Student Union markets; every Tuesday there is a food market and each month there is a new general market.  If you’ve got a small business, you could also book a stall.

A number of the cafes on campus are open to visitors; you’ll find Café on the Square in the Emily Wilding Davison Building, Crosslands in the heart of the Founder’s Building and the Boilerhouse Café in a stunning heritage building. If you’ve run out of any essentials the Union Shop is open every day of the week from 8am to 11pm, or 6pm out of term time.  

If you have visitors and need local accommodation we have availability throughout the year in comfortable four and five star campus-rated guest rooms, for stays of up to 14 nights. During the winter, Easter and summer student holidays visitors can even book rooms in the stunning Grade 1 listed Founder’s Building.

We also have a number of bookable venue options suitable for a variety of occasions; from wedding ceremonies in the historic Founder’s Building, to private dining in the Picture Gallery, to rooms at The Packhorse Pub, Student Union venues or sports facilities.