Visitors to two Lancashire museums will be able to take advantage of free entry until the end of the month as part of the British Textile Biennial 2023.

Those going to Helmshore Mills and Queen Street Mill in Burnley can also enjoy extended opening with extra days and more time to explore.

The museums are supporting the biennial and hosting four art exhibitions within their unique settings.

Funded by Arts Council England and a range of partners, the British Textile Biennial was first established in 2019.

It throws a spotlight on the nation’s creativity, innovation, and expression in textiles against the backdrop of the impressive infrastructure of the cotton industry in the area.

Queen Street Mill in the Harle Syke area of Burnley is a Grade 1 listed weaving mill built in 1894.

It has a nationally designated collection including in-situ textile machinery with two Lancashire boilers, an operating steam engine, and more than 300 Lancashire looms.

Helmshore Mills, in the borough of Rossendale, is a scheduled monument dating back to 1789.

It consists of two working mills – Higher Mill, a wool-fulling mill with waterwheel, and Whittaker Mill, a cotton-spinning mill with a working mule spinning machine.

The biennial looks at the environmental and human costs of the textile industry at the service of fast fashion over the last two centuries and explores possible alternatives.

Queen Street Mill is also hosting a free workshop on October 15 with the Cottonopolis Collective, and a day focussed on historic weaving including a talk and workshop on October 19.

Free entry to both museums runs until Sunday, October 29.

County councillor Peter Buckley, cabinet member for community and cultural services, said: “Queen Street Mill and Helmshore Mills are important local heritage assets and provide a glimpse into our industrial past.

“Our textile mills helped shape Lancashire as we see it today and I would encourage all residents and visitors to take advantage of this offer and come and see them for yourself.”