Friday, May 6, 2011

May 4, 2011 - Bodnant Gardens, Wales

Hylo All,                  

Today we took a short hour and a half drive into Wales.  We made use of our National Trust membership to explore Bodnant Gardens.  Road works around Conwy were now complete so the drive was quite pleasant with no slowdowns.  When we arrived we decided to have our picnic lunch before heading into the gardens.  We saw many other seniors also enjoying their packed lunches.  Many of them appeared to be pros at the picnic lunch experience as they have brought their folding chairs with them to enjoy the sun.

Bodnant Gardens occupies an area of over 80 acres and was first laid out by Henry Davis Pochin, a successful industrial chemist.  He laid out the gardens from 1874 until his death in 1895.  The house on the grounds was built in 1792  by Pochin and was inherited by his daughter upon his death.  Her husband became the first Baron Aberconway in 1911.  The Garden was donated to the National Trust in 1949 by Henry McLaren the 2nd Baron of Aberconway.  It is only the second garden without the house to be given to the National Trust and the garden is still managed by his descendants.  Bodnant is most famous for its breeding programme, especially of varieties of Rhododendrons and Azaleas, examples of which are now grown throughout the world.

The Rhododendrons are in fully bloom at this time of the year.  The colours are every bit as spectacular as on our recent trip to Holland.
Here, however, we only get the occasional waft of scent.  The gardens are varied with formal terraces, ornamental ponds and woodlands, complete with a waterfall.  There are some very old oak trees and in the Valley or woodland section a California Redwood that was planted in 1886 that is now 146 feet high.  There is also an Oregon Douglas Fir at 158 feet.  The garden staff are doing a lot to conserve these old giants.  The oak trees have suffered some illness and the soil around them has been replaced and work done to nourish the root systems hoping to save the trees.

While in the Canal Terrace I met two ladies discussing the merits of becoming National Trust members. I of course gave them my two cents worth and as we chat it turns out one lady of them is from Toronto. Small world for sure, we chatted a bit and then carry on with our explorations.  We explored the gardens for about three hours before I started to fade.  We had walked down into the valley and now have to make our way back up to head out.  Fred find's the easy route out thankfully so while upwards the climb was not as steep.

Before leaving I would like to mention a grave we came across in the upper portion of the Gardens.  Anne McLaren 1907 - 2007 was laid to rest where she loved to read among the beautiful Rhododendrons and Azalea's.  What a fitting tribute.  As well, a short distance away, there were two stone markers noting the graves for the family cats.

We headed home using secondary roads to explore the Welsh countryside.  Once again we miss some photo opportunities because of the narrow roads and cars behind us.  We spotted sets of twins and one set of triplets (Lambs) that are fairly young still. 

We stopped at Hooton to check out a pub we have passed many times, The Chimneys.  A lovely pub and one that we will return to for lunch as the menu looked great.

Hwyl am Rwan/Nawr,

Sandy & Fred

Thursday, May 5, 2011

April 21, 2011 - Waddesdon

Greetings All,

We are back in the UK and at our last stop before heading home.  I found this hotel on one of the many sites that offer travel specials I have signed up for.  It was a nice way to end this trip and also a bit of a celebration for Fred's 60th birthday.  Before booking into the hotel we visited Waddesdon Manor, a National Trust site.  We arrived in time to get the last timed-entry ticket to the manor, which was 45 minutes before it closed.  As a result we weren't able to get an audio guide and so we wandered through the 45 rooms that were open to the public.  The manor as seen on the left was built (1874 - 1890) by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to house his collection of art treasures and to entertain the fashionable of time.  The French furniture, paintings and art pieces were all from the 18th Century are said to be of the highest quality found anywhere in the world.  Some of the rooms are so jammed full with artwork and furniture that it almost looked junky.  It is too bad because I think it detracted from the beauty and craftsmanship of the pieces on display.  Photography of course was not allowed inside the manor.  It seems to be an on again off again policy with National Trust as we were told if we had visited the previous day we could have taken pictures without flash but now they have decided for security reasons no pictures whatsoever are allowed.  As National Trust members, we were also allowed free entry into the Bachelors Wing.  Winston Churchill was one of the many dignitaries that have stayed in this section of the manor.  Even this part the manor is very opulent.

After exiting the manor house we had a quick tour of the formal gardens at the back of the house.  There were fountains and beautifully landscaped gardens or Parterre as it is called.

There was much that we did not see due to our late arrival.  An aviary, other gardens, nature walkways and stables that house more contemporary art work.  Definitely worth a return visit for the grounds alone.

We then headed to the Hotel,  The Five Arrows and checked in.  It was also part of the Rothschild  estate, originally used as the residence and workshop for the architects that were responsible for the construction of the manor itself.  Our room was one of the larger ones due to the use of the booking
site and was at the back overlooking the gardens.  A bottle of champagne awaited us as part of our welcome.  A Rothschild champagne and though we are not great lovers of champagne it was nice and dry and very enjoyable.  Dinner was also included in our package and we were very surprised to find we are seated in a small private alcove in the restaurant away from the rest of the patrons.  Fred had wood pigeon for his starter and duck for his main course. My starter was a panacotta terrine and venison for my main dish. Needless to say it was accompanied by a Chilean Merlot.  A very relaxing meal finished off with coffees.

I had the best sleep I have had in a long time.  The bed was amazing.  You actually seemed to sink into it but it was not lumpy or uncomfortable in any way.  I told Fred that we needed a bed like this back home.

After breakfast we headed out to take some pictures of the hotel and then took the back roads home to Liverpool.   On this trip we traveled a total of 1573.3 miles and averaged 52 miles per gallon.  Pictures for the trip have been posted on my Facebook and our flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/fredparkins for your viewing pleasure.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred