On a mild day in December Marian led a group of 6 from Insole Court and Gardens in Llandaff through 3 City Parks:

Victoria Park - Canton Common in an earlier incarnation - which is grade 2 listed, Thompson’s Park which is one of Cardiff’s oldest parks and has the fountain statue of ‘Joyance’ by Sir William Goscombe John at its entrance, and Llandaff Fields where they stopped for a very welcome coffee and mince pies

They then crossed the River Taff and walked along the Taff Trail before returning to Llandaff, taking in the ancient (very spooky!) graveyard, Prichard bridge (with a very interesting plaque) and the medieval former residence of the Bishops of Llandaff. They also stopped briefly at the Cathedral to view the Epstein figure of Christ

An excellent lunch was then had at The Maltsters’before returning to look around Insole Court.

Insole Court mirrors Cardiff’s rise and decline during Victorian and Edwardian eras. It was originally built by James Harvey Insole in 1856, and when in the 1870s he was able to withdraw from business in favour of more gentlemanly pursuits (as you do!) he then extended the house, aspiring to emulate Cardiff Castle. He eventually acquired the hallmark of gentrification in the 1880s by converting the farmland surrounding his gardens into a fine ornamental park

If you haven’t already been there it’s well worth a visit. It’s free to look around the gardens and the ground floor, with a modest £5 charge to do an audio visual tour upstairs