This week, I am away from home (with Husband, of course) staying at a hotel in Chester, very close to the Welsh border. This is an ideal place from which I can visit my family in Lancashire and Wales as well as revisiting some of the wonderful castles along the North Wales coast and the Roman and medieval sites around the city of Chester itself.
Oddly enough, our first visit was to somewhere quite unplanned. Whilst visiting my aunt and uncle at Penrhyn (in the county of Conwy) along the coast of North Wales, we decided to take a trip to Bodnant Gardens, nestling in the foothills of Snowdonia, just five miles inland from their house.
Bodnant has been described as one of the world’s most “magical” gardens. The scenery is quite dramatic and there are historic plant collections and awesome trees. Every season presents wonderful species and the changing colours are spectacular.
A mill was built down in the Dell (valley) to serve the needs of the estate, but it was not until the Hall was bought by industrialist Henry Pochin in 1874, that the gardens began to really take shape. It was he who planted the giant conifers in the Dell, created the famous Laburnum Arch and built the Poem Mausoleum as a resting place for himself and his family.
Since Pochin’s time the Gardens have considerably grown and new species continuously introduced. Plants were brought back by 19th and early 20th century explorers, including towering American redwoods and gorgeous Himalayan primulas, poppies and lilies.
The Gardens were first opened up to the public by Pochin’s daughter Laura, following her father’s death in 1895. On Laura’s death, management of the gardens passed to her son, Henry McLaren and stayed within that family until 1949 when they were handed over to The National Trust.
It’s a beautiful place, and when I went the weather was spectacular.
Thank you, Ali! i would love to see your pictures. I’m so jealous of my aunt and uncle who live really close to the place. They can’t get enough of it, either. They reel off the Latin names for everything, too. Show offs!
Love all the photos…the flowers are really stunning and I like the Laburnam Arch. Thank you for sharing these. Looking forward to seeing the castles.
Thank you, Jessie. Bodnant was a lovely start to our week. My aunt and uncle visit so often as it’s less than five miles from where they live. I’ve been four times now, but this was the first time I’ve seen the laburnam in full flower. It was either not quite open or just finished on our previous visits!
Oh, I’d love to visit those gardens! It looks so lovely! All those flowers and the green grass. What a nice photo of you and your husband, too 🙂 Love the idea of it being a medieval garden. I’ve heard that some flowers can last for half a century, even (orchids, at least)… And so my imagination immediately wanders to a scene where some of the flowers in that garden might be centuries old; the originals brought back by the explorers themselves (not just descendants). I know plants (probably) don’t last that long, but hey, I can still daydream! Wouldn’t it be amazing to stroll along in a garden with flowers that old? 🙂 In any case, the fact that everything has been kept close to the original design must certainly add some historic atmosphere. Loved this post!
What a beautiful and interesting place, Millie! Great pictures, too!
This was a wonderful visit to the beautiful gardens and Awesome Hall. Thanks for the tour!
Your uncle and aunt are really lucky to have been staying near this garden. The garden looks spectacular from the post that you’ve written and pictures shown. I’m sure you would have had a wonderful time there. The Laburnam Arch looks very romantic and beautiful.
O my God! beautiful. I think of peace and serenity as I look through your pictures and wish desperately that teleportation was real and at my disposal. you must have had/having a swell time on your trip. I do hope I get to see these little heaven(s) on earth sprinkled among all the chaos and darkness.
WOW!!! I love the place. Thank you for the pictures Millie.