This afternoon visit is a guided walking tour around the hilltop town of Old Llantrisant, including a visit to the church. It will conclude at the historic Guildhall to see the main treasures and watch a short film about the town and its history.  This will be followed by tea and welsh cakes. Please note that participants will be required to make their own way to and from Old Llantrisant.

Date: Friday 10th July

Time: 2pm to 4.30

Price: £7.00

Refreshents: light refeshments will be available after the film

Fully Booked

On this full day visit we will visit the three attractive Black and White Herefordshire villages of Weobley, Pembridge and Eardisland. Weobley, where we will have a guided tour of the church, was the main filming location for the film Hamnet. From there we will go on to Pembridge for a sandwich lunch in the historic New Inn, followed by a guided tour of the church and general talk by Gavin Plumley, our recent excellent Study Day lecturer. The visit will conclude with a visit to Eardisland and the Grade 2* Burton Court, dating from the 14th century, where we will enjoy a cream scone tea and have a tour of the manor house, gardens and archaeological dig. 

Date: Friday 5th June

Time: Full Day. Departure at 8.15am from St Michael's Road (Ely Road end). Return at about 6.45pm.

Refreshments: Lunch and afternoon tea will be included

Price: £58.00

This full day visit will be to Worcester, which is an ancient cathedral city set on the banks of the river Severn.The city was an important trade centre in medival times as well as playing a significant part in the British Civil War.  In the late 18th and early 19th centuries it was a major centre for glove making supplying almost half the gloves sold in the UK. Worcester was also a very important centre for ceramic making and this visit will include entrance to the Museum of Royal Worcester which holds examples of the finest porcelain made between 1751 and 2008.  The museum also has an extensive archive of patterns and copper plates including an audio recording library which charts workers' memories from the 1930s to the end of production.

Date: Tuesday 16th September NOTE: only 4 places remaining on 22nd August. Any requests for places must be made by 31st August at the latest.

Time: 8.45am to 6.30 pm 

Refreshments: Tea and biscuit at Museum of Royal Worcester before the return journey

Price: £47.00pp.

Image Copyright © 2021 Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce

This morning visit will be to Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff. At 110 acres it is one of the largest cemeteries in the United Kingdom.  Opened in 1859 its two chapels, cemetery house, gateway and forecourt wall are all Grade II listed. It also contains graves from both World Wars and many spectacular memorials, which our guide will explain to us.

Members will be required to make their own way to the cemetery: Cathays Cemetery, Fairoak Road, Cathays, Cardiff CF24 2PY

Date: Thursday 10th July, 2025 and 17th July, 2025

Timing: Morning, approx 10.30am - 12.00pm

Cost: £2.00pp.

This full day visit will be to The American Museum at Claverton Manor and Bath. 

The American Museum and Gardens at Claverton Manor is the only museum outside the USA dedicated to the American decorative arts. The museum is housed in a Grade I listed building and includes a series of rooms that recreate periods of American history, as well as world-renowned folk art, quilt and map collections. Some of the maps will be on display for the first time in over a decade at the time of our visit, in a special exhibition, Myths and Memories: Renaissance Maps.  The maps are presented as works of art, highlighting their design, artistry, and variety of forms. The gardens surrounding the museum are Grade II listed and represent some of the most iconic movements in American landscape design.  Bath needs no introduction, with its Georgian architecture, beautiful Abbey with exceptional fan vaulting (entry fee), outstanding Roman remains, museums, shops and eating places. This year marks the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, Bath’s most famous resident, and it will be possible to see an exhibition in the Abbey, Austens at the Abbey, if you wish.

Date: Thursday 1st May

Time: 8.30am to 6.00pm approximately

Refreshments: There are no refreshments included in this trip

Price: £40.00

Image © Mark de Fleury

The city of Wells is one of the smallest cities in the UK, having been a city since medieval times due to the presence of its famous cathedral. It is named after three wells dedicated to St Andrew.  Wells Cathedral is the seat of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells and has been of significant ecclesiastical importance since at least the early 8th century. Parts of the building date back to the tenth century and the west front is said to have the finest collection of statuary in Europe, retaining almost 300 of its original medieval statues.The Bishop's Palace has been the home of the bishops of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The hall and chapel date from the 14th century.  It is surrounded by 14 acres (5.7 ha) of gardens including the springs from which the city takes its name.

Date: Wednesday 2nd October 2024

Time: 

8.45am                       Depart from St Michael’s Road (Ely Road end), Llandaff

9.00am                       Pick-up at Pentwyn Leisure Centre

10.45am                    Arrive at Wells

11.00am - 11.30am   Tea/coffee and biscuits in Wells Cathedral

11.30am - 12.30pm   (approx.) Guided Cathedral Highlights tour

12.30pm - 2.25pm     Free time to spend longer in the Cathedral, look around the market and/or other buildings in central Wells, and have lunch in one of the many cafés and restaurants

2.30pm - 4.20pm       Visit to the Bishop’s Palace and gardens, where there is also a tearoom

4.30pm                       Depart from Wells

6.15pm (approx.)      Arrive at Pentwyn Leisure Centre

6.30pm (approx.)      Arrive at St Michael’s Road

Refreshments: Tea/coffee and biscuits are included upon arrival at Wells Cathedral

Price: £40 per person or £31 to Historic House members

Nantgarw China Works is the only surviving early 19th century porcelain works in the United Kingdom. In the years 1813-1814 and again in the period 1817-1820 the finest porcelain in the world was produced there by William Billingsley, one of the most remarkable porcelain painters and manufacturers of his time.

The maximum size of the group is 35 persons and places will be allocated on a strictly 'first come, first served' basis. Members will be required to make their own way to the pottery in the village of Nantgarw on the eastern bank of the Glamorganshire Canal. There is parking, although car sharing is advised, and bus information will follow.

Please note that the floor in some of the rooms is uneven and there is one staircase, with handrail, to be navigated.

Date:  Thursday 18th July

Time: Afternoon - the tour of the works will start at 1.30pm and will last two hours.

Refreshments: Tea and Welshcake at the start

Price: £12.00 

Once the site of an Iron Age fort, in the early medieval period Malmesbury became the site of Malmesbury Abbey, for which it is still best known as the bulk of the Abbey is a rare survival from the period of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.  As the population surrounding the Abbey increased, Malmesbury came to prominence as a market town in the Middle Ages: a prominance it still retains.

Dyrham Park was created in the 17th century by William Blathwayt, becoming one of the most notable stately homes of its age. It is currently surounded by extensive gardens which the visitor is encouraged to explore, along with the house.

Date:  Tuesday 21st May 2023 

Time: 8.45 am departure from St Michael's Road, Llandaff (Ely Road end)

        6.00 pm return to St Michael's Road

Price: £30 for National Trust members, £48 for non-members

Refreshments: A light lunch is included

St. Mary’s Church, Kempley, has some of the best-preserved medieval wall paintings in Britain. The Church of St Edward the Confessor was described by John Betjeman as a mini cathedral of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Ledbury, where we will stop for lunch (not included) is a charming market town with many notable buildings, independent shops and places to eat.  Eastnor Castle, with its magnificent park, is early 19th century with richly decorated interiors including medieval armour, fine art and tapestries. The castle is surrounded by a deer park, arboretum and lake. Guides to talk us through the main features of the two churches and  a guided tour of Eastnor Castle are included in the price for this visit.

Price: £42 per person

Time:  8.30am departure from St Michael’s Road, Llandaff (Ely Road end)

             6.00 pm arrival back to St Michael's Road (approx)

Images: St Mary's Church, Kempley, 2011 © Gail Hampshire, Wikimedia Commons and Eastnor Castle, 2017 ©  Elliott Brown, Wikimedia Commons

We are delighted to offer members an informative afternoon walk around old Llandaff on Thursday 20th July, starting at 2.15 pm from the Tile Map at the entrance to the car park off High Street, Llandaff.  This leisurely walk is suitable for everyone and will last about one and a half hours, after which participants may like to visit the Cathedral (the interior is not included in the tour) and/or one of the teashops on the High Street.  Parking in the car park is free for the first two hours.  We recommend that you arrive in good time to secure a place and pay for an extra hour or so if you plan to stay in Llandaff for a while after the walk.  The walk will be led by experienced Llandaff guide Geoffrey Barton-Greenwood who has lived in Llandaff for many years.

The maximum size of the group is 25 persons and places will be allocated on a strictly 'first come, first served' basis.  If it is greatly oversubscribed, it may be possible to organise a second walk.

The cost is £5.00 per person, payable in cash only on the day.  Money will be collected at the start of the walk.  Mr Barton-Greenwood is kindly giving his time free of charge but has asked that the proceeds be divided between The Llandaff Society and the Llandaff 50 Plus Group.

Our first stop will be at Winchcombe, a pretty Cotswold town and formerly the capital of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia.  The three main streets curve along the valley or 'combe' and have many tearooms, timbered inns and shops as well as some beautiful cottages.  The church of St. Peter was built in 1645; it contains floor tiles from the original abbey and is well known for its spectacular gargoyles and weathervane.  There is a museum located in the Victorian Town Hall at the T-junction in the centre of the town, which has exhibitions highlighting the history of Winchcombe including fragments of the exceptionally rare meteorite (4.6 billion years old) that fell on the town in 2021, as well as works by local artists.

We then travel the very short distance to Sudeley Castle which boasts royal connections stretching back over 1,000 years.  It was the final home of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's last wife, and she is buried in a beautiful 15th century church found within the award-winning gardens.  The castle includes an informative and engaging exhibition space covering the whole history of the castle, and volunteers and guides are stationed throughout the castle rooms to provide additional information and answer questions.  There are artefacts and works of art of great historical importance, including those relating to Katherine Parr and Charles 1.  The gardens include the Queen's Garden, the Knot Gardens and the White Garden.

Time:  The coach will depart from St Michael's Road Llandaff at 9am and arrive back at approximately 6pm.

Refreshments:  A light lunch, consisting of sandwiches, crisps and tea/coffee at Sudeley Castle is included in the price.

Price:  The cost for the day is £45 per person. It is also possible to book a place for a 30-minute talk, given a few times a day, on arrival at the castle, and these cost £2.50 extra. 

Booking: An itinerary and booking form are available here

Image: Ariel View of Sudeley Castle, 2014 © Wiebe de Jager, Wikimedia Commons 

Thursday 15th September 2022

This visit will be to the elegant Victorian seaside town of Clevedon and the nearby National Trust property of Clevedon Court, which is a 14th-century manor house, with later modifications, and a Grade I listed building. There are also 18th-century terraced gardens and a tea kiosk.

Time: The coach will leave Cardiff at 9.30 am and return at approximately 5.45 pm.

Refreshments: There are no refreshments included in the trip price.

Price: £25.00 per person with an additional charge of £8.50 for non-National Trust members for entry to Clevedon Court.

Full details of the trip will be available in August

On this full day trip on Thursday 23rd June, we will visit two venues in Carmarthenshire: Llanelly House and Aberglasney Gardens.

Llanelly House is one of the most notable historic properties in Llanelli.  It is an excellent example of an early18th-century Georgian town house and has been described as the most outstanding domestic building of its early Georgian type to survive in South Wales. The house was originally built in1714 by the then Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire, Sir Thomas Stepney. John Wesley, the early leader of the Methodist movement, stayed at the house several times during his visits to the town.

The origins of Aberglasney Gardens are not so well documented but there is mention of the ‘nine green gardens’ of Aberglasney in a medieval poem by Lewis Glyn Cothi, Cywydd i Rhydderch ap Rhys. After many ups and downs over the intervening centuries the gardens, and parts of the house, have been restored and or re-envisioned.  The gardens now contain 14 separate places, many replicating the earlier gardens such as the Cloister and Pool gardens, plus newly discovered features like the Gatehouse and recently created areas such as the Jubilee Woodland.

Time: The coach will leave Cardiff at 9.30am and return at approximately 6.00 pm

Refreshments: A buffet lunch is included in the ticket price

Price: £45 per person

Please note that there is no lift in Llanelly House, therefore access may be restricted for those with significant mobility issues

An itinerary and booking form is available here

The picture is of the Cloister Gardens at Aberglasney.

We are delighted that author, poet and historian Peter Finch has agreed to lead another walk for our Society. Peter is well known for his performance poetry, his walking tours and his books about Cardiff. He was formerly Chief Executive of Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society of Writers, and its successor, Literature Wales.

This will be a leisurely walk, starting from the old Glamorgan County Hall next to the Police Station in the centre of Cardiff and finishing at The Hayes, near a coffee shop.  It will take less than two hours. There will be a look at some of the literary venues around the central city and Peter will perform a relevant piece at each stop.

Photo: Glamorgan Building                                                                                                                    https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glamorgan_Building,_Cardiff_University.JPG

Cardiff City walk, Roath area, with Peter Finch: the Victorian Roath Park Lake with the lighthouse built in 1915 to commemorate Captain Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition, which departed from Cardiff Bay.

This visit included the SS Great Britain which was the world's first steel-hulled ship and designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was launched in 1843 and restored in the 1970s to become the centre piece for the New Brunel Museum.

This spiral walk in the centre of Cardiff included the drinking fountain built in 1860 on the bridge over and investigation of, the old Glamorgan Canal, Kingsway