´óÏó´«Ã½

There's just over a week left of , Wales' annual celebration of architecture and built heritage. Events are running throughout the month of September and as they're all free, there is ample reason to get out and about to explore interesting buildings.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales History asked Derw Thomas, Open Doors Coordinator, from the , to recommend a range of buildings and events for the Open Doors programme.

"Every local authority area of Wales has its own contribution to the Open Doors programme. A visit to the Open Doors website will direct you to listings for all 22 local authority areas of Wales.

Rhiwbina Garden Village guided walk

"The Open Doors programme includes so many different types of buildings. And in addition to castles, stately homes, industrial heritage, places of worship and impressive civic buildings, there are numerous guided walks, talks and lectures.

"Last Saturday coordinated a series of events concentrating on Rhiwbina Garden Village. The weekend included exhibitions, a lecture on the Garden Village movement and a guided walk. This mixture provided an informative and entertaining set of events with the local community at its heart.

"There are more guided walks lined up as part of the rest of the Open Doors programme. The designated Townscape Heritage Initiative area of Bridgend will be the focus for a guided walk on Saturday 24 September. There are also several guided walks planned in the historic market town of Ruthin in Denbighshire on the weekend of 24 and 25 September.

Medieval Mayhem at Chepstow Castle (Cadw)

"Recent research showed that Welsh castles are Britain's most popular attraction with foreign visitors. We are, of course, blessed with a huge wealth of castles and fortified buildings.

Chepstow Castle came to life recently with an Open Doors event entitled Medieval Mayhem. With stalls and demonstrations representing everything from archery to courtly dances, and food to fossils, this event was a real favourite with families despite the inclement weather.

Castles and historic houses are at the core of the Open Doors programme. There's so much variety among the fortresses and grand houses across the country and many take part in the programme. Margam Park, in Neath Port Talbot, which formerly belonged to the Mansel Talbot family, is a new addition to Open Doors this year. There have been events in Margam throughout the month and there are more still to come.

St Mary's Church, Penllech, Gwynedd

Also central to the Open Doors programme are places of worship, with buildings representing a range of faiths, all ages and every denomination included. There are churches and chapels around Wales in every possible type of location, from remote rural stone churches to inner city faith buildings.

campaigns for and rescues redundant historic churches threatened by demolition and decay. It looks after 20 such churches in Wales and Open Doors is an opportunity to seek out the most appealing of them.

Pigs cotts, Lower White Castle, part of the programme

Some of the most popular venues for visitors are the private homes which take part in Open Doors. In the main, these events normally need to be pre-booked in order to cope with demand and manage numbers. In the spirit of inclusion that is central to the Open Doors programme, there's even a pig house included in the programme this year!

Open Doors days take place throughout September and offer the public free access to places and buildings of historic and architectural interest. Buildings which are normally free to visit put on something very special. This year there are over 500 events at more than 300 sites across Wales. For more information visit