On the day after tackling Mt. Snowden we found our joints a wee bit stiff and the going a touch bit slow. We decided to mix up the remaining couple of days' sightseeing itineraries to suit, cherry-picking from the sights today's viewing pleasures.
The weather dawned gloomy and the forecast was dire - 65‰ chance of rain today, our first bad forecast since we've been here. As the day was overcast but still dry, we headed to Bodnant Gardens first to take advantage of the calm before the storm. 80 acres of horticultural treat, Bodnant was a family estate donated to the National Trust in 1949 (gardens only, not house), and although it was long past the prime flowering season, the garden was amazing for its mature trees and plants in a natural setting (many dating to 1890 including giant sequoias and humongous rhododendrons) and it's formal terraced gardens. We spent a couple of happy hours wandering about.
Further north on the A470 was the seaside castle town of Conwy. I hadn't had high hopes for it but it turned out to be surprisingly delightful. There was lots to see: Telford's Suspension Bridge, a medieval Merchant's House, the magnificent castle walls that surround the town, Britain's smallest house, the seashore, and Plas Mawr, a stunning 16th C. wealthy merchant's house. Castle-smatzchel, who has time for that?
As you can see, the day had cleared up remarkably well and we were starting to wonder at our luck with the weather. Could we possibly make it 3 weeks without rain on our parade? Even the statuary seemed a bit smug on our behalf...
No comments:
Post a Comment