Open Doors Llandaff 2017

Many things happen every September – the kids go back to school, evenings start drawing in – and blue and orange posters appear all over Llandaff, advertising Open Doors heritage days.

Originally set up by the Civic Trust for Wales, Open Doors gives access to some of the more interesting places in Wales – at no charge. Overseen by Cadw, the Llandaff ‘cluster’ is organised by a small team of volunteers, predominantly from the Friends of Llandaff Cathedral, Llandaff Society, Howell’s School, St. Michael’s Centre, and Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Planning begins in October with a scratching of heads to come up with new buildings to visit and opportunities to enjoy. Regular meetings bring together all the events until the programme is produced in late August. It seems to grow each year and, because the 2016 event included so many activities, it was a challenge to squeeze everything onto the A4 leaflet. There will therefore be a new design for 2017.

The first event is on Monday 11th September when Cardiff Metropolitan University will be offering an invitation to view the Masters show. On Tuesday, the University will have a tour of its School of Art and Design.

There are two new events on Wednesday 13th – the chance to view the proposed Visitor Centre and 50+ Centre next to the Bishop’s Castle, and then an invitation to take lunch at Fairwater Conservative Club and learn more about the history of the building. In the evening, Llandaff Society will be running its popular Roald Dahl Walk.

Howell’s School will be holding tours on Thursday 14th and Friday 15th sees the Friends of Llandaff Cathedral running its annual schools’ drawing event. The Friends will also be running events on Saturday 16th, which will be a busy day with a ‘tours and Llandaff archive’ morning at St. Michael’s Centre, the opening of Insole Court, and riding lessons and grooming advice at the Cardiff Riding School.

Sunday lunch and tours will be available at St. Michael’s Centre on the 17th, and then on Tuesday 19th, Ysgol Pencae will hold tours of the school, with entertainment from the pupils. Also on this day, Llandaff Society’s history tour will take place in the village.

There’s a chance to tour BBC Cymru Wales on Saturday 23rd and we’re hoping that Llandaff Croquet Club will be running an open session in Llandaff Fields.

So, a busy fortnight of events in Llandaff, all organised by volunteers for you to enjoy. Please come and visit! More information can be found on www.llandaffcity.co.uk and on the Open Doors section of the Cadw website.

Donna Howard
Llandaff