Nice and bright again this morning. After breakfast we headed off to Bodnant Gardens.
Bodnant Garden is a National Trust property near Tal-y-Cafn, Conwy, Wales, overlooking the Conwy Valley towards the Carneddau mountains.
Founded in 1874 and developed by five generations of one family, it was gifted to the National Trust in 1949. The garden spans 80 acres of hillside and includes formal Italianate terraces, informal shrub borders stocked with plants from around the world, The Dell, a gorge garden, a number of notable trees and a waterfall. Since 2012, new areas have opened including the Winter Garden, Old Park Meadow, Yew Dell and The Far End, a riverside garden. Furnace Wood and Meadow opened in 2017. There are plans to open more new areas, including Heather Hill and Cae Poeth Meadow.
Bodnant Garden is visited by around 190,000 people every year and is famous for its Laburnum arch, the longest in the UK, which flowers in May and June. The garden is also celebrated for its link to the plant hunters of the early 1900s whose expeditions formed the base of the garden's four National Collections of plants –Magnolia, Embothrium, Eucryphia and Rhododendron forrestii.
After a few hours of enjoying the beautiful Garden and two coffees, a packet of crisps and a piece of Chocolate Orange sponge cake, we headed for Betws-Y-Coed.
Betws-y-Coed ("Prayer house in the wood", Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbɛtʊs ə ˈkɔɨd]) is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Prior to 1974 it was located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire.
Betws-y-Coed is one of the honeypot locations in Snowdonia. It lies in the Snowdonia National Park, in a valley near the point where the River Conwy is joined by the River Llugwy and the River Lledr, and was founded around a monastery in the late sixth century. The village grew very slowly with the development of the local lead mining industry. In 1815, the Waterloo Bridge, built by Thomas Telford to carry the London to Holyhead road (now the A5) across the River Conwy and through the village, brought considerable transport-related development. The village became a major coaching centre between Corwen (to the east) and Capel Curig (to the west) on the Irish Mail route from London to Holyhead, which led to the improvement of the roads south to Blaenau Ffestiniog and north to Llanrwst and Conwy. It is a primary destination for the purpose of road signs.
Construction of Betws-y-Coed railway station in 1868 heralded the arrival of the railway line from Llandudno Junction railway station, and resulted in the village's population increasing by around 500.
The village has a large village green which is the playing field for the local football team. The green is bounded on its western side by the A5 trunk road, with 19th century buildings, including shops, hotels, and the Church of St Mary. This church was built on the site of a former cockpit and fairground, and although it is of early English appearance, it was completed as recently as 1873, the internal roof timbers testifying to this relatively young age. The interior also features various types of stone: local bluestone, sandstone (and floor tiles) from Ancaster, and black serpentine from Cornwall. The square bell tower was added in 1907, and the integral church hall was added in the 1970s, the commemorative stone being laid by the Earl of Ancaster in 1976.
On the southern side of the green is the railway station with cafes, tourist shops and a car park. In the former railway goods yard, reached from the station, is the Conwy Valley Railway Museum with its extensive miniature railway.
The village is also a centre for outdoor activities and lies within the Gwydyr Forest.
We had a lovely if not quite expensive two scoop ice cream and headed to the Black Bull Inn in Bangor, J D Wetherspoon pub for tea before heading back to the caravan.
Plas Newydd is a country house set in gardens, parkland and surrounding woodland on the north bank of the Menai Strait, in Llanddaniel Fab, near Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales. The current building has its origins in 1470, and evolved over the centuries to become one of Anglesey's principal residences. Owned successively by Griffiths, Baylys and Pagets, it became the country seat of the Marquesses of Anglesey, and the core of a large agricultural estate. The house and grounds, with views over the strait and Snowdonia, are open to the public, having been owned by the National Trust since 1976. On the way back to the car we saw a beautiful red squirrel running along the fence by the adventure playground.
After another Latte and piece of shortbread we headed off in search of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch station. The place with the longest place name in Britain with 58 letters. The station was actually closed, so after taking a couple of photographs we headed up to Beaumaris.
