‘Open Doors’is proving to be as popular as ever with many walks and tours booking up fast.
This coming weekend (12 and 13 September), the focus for this free annual heritage event is Denbigh, with events taking place all over town.
Walks and tours still available to book include: a walk with explorer H M Stanley, a visit to Gwasg Gee Print Works, a Townscape Heritage Initiative walk looking at restored properties on Vale Street and the Geological Trail – a new tour looking at the stones that built this historic town. Discover Medieval Denbigh with archaeologist Fiona Gale, taking in the Town Walls, Leicester’s Church and Denbigh Castle.
You can also book a visit to Bryn Celyn – an impressive town house and private home. Book a tour to view Bryn Y Parc which is currently undergoing major reconstruction after a fire which exposed many interesting features that would otherwise have remained undiscovered.
In the Dr Evan Pierce Memorial Garden, there will be traditional building skills demonstrations by Recclesia Ltd, including stone masonry and stained glass. Haddow & Fey Ltd will also be on hand to show you traditional plastering methods – you can even have a go yourself.
The Old Carriage Works in Love Lane will have an exhibition of the Trades and Crafts of Denbigh, the Library has a North Wales Hospital exhibition including old photographs, Electroconvulsive Therapy apparatus and event programmes from the 1880s. At Canolfan Iaith Clwyd there is a display of old radios and a history of Wireless in Wales.
Open Doors is also taking place in Llangollen on 19 and 20 and in Ruthin on 26 and 27 September.
For more information visit the website www.opendoorsdenbighshire.gov.uk or phone 01745 816313 / 01978 860828 / 01824 705274 to request a guidebook which has full details of all events.
European Heritage Days are an initiative of the Council of Europe. ‘Open Doors’ is co-ordinated by the Civic Trust for Wales whose partners organise parallel events in England and Scotland. The initiative was launched in 1991 and last year over 20 million people visited all the participating sites throughout Europe.
