A Grand Day Out

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We had a bit of A Grand Day Out today. We met the boys at Bodnant Gardens in the Conwy Valley this morning - pictured, The Pin Mill at the end of one of the formal gardens, reflected in the lily pond to its front. We'd visited this spot before with my parents, before my mother died, and I had worked on the estate a couple of times with my job at the time, but we'd never actually explored the full extent of the place, which is eighty acres in extent, and which have been developed and continue to be developed, since 1874, when the original late eighteenth century plot was expanded into the place that exists today. I have to say that this place is probably the finest suite of gardens and parkland I've ever seen; better than Chatsworth, Plas Newydd or Blenheim, and far more imaginative than Versailles' open parklands.

It is unrivalled in my humble opinion and experience: the view created across the Italianate terracing from the house and across the Conwy Valley overshadows the finest vistas of Tuscany: indeed the Boboli gardens in Florence, whilst exceeding grand, are nowt by comparison. Bodnant is layered in a manner that is simultaneously subtle and grandiose, and truly wonderful: the quality and upkeep of the formal gardens is extraordinary. The overall architectural vision of the place is frankly exquisite, providing a landscape that absorbs formality and artifice into the existing lie of the land in a seamless work of both nature and deliberate design. Pure theatre, and well worth either the National Trust membership or the entry fee...

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