Exploring a Unique World Heritage Site in Wales

 You were probably expecting to see a post on beautiful gardens with a castle, as that seems to have been the theme as of late.  And, guess what?  You are right!

Today's morning adventure began at Powis Castle, a bit south of where we are staying. 

The castle didn't open until noon, so we took advantage of the time and perused the gardens.

The weather wasn't the best for photographs, but we couldn't control that.  It certainly didn't distract from the amazing gardens at Powis.

I do wish that I could tell you more about the castle, but there were no information boards.  No photos were permitted to be taken inside for some reason, so I won't be sharing any favorites here.  The interior was huge, and the original building had been a Medieval fortress at one time.  The one guide pointed out to me that the floor boards as well as the ornate ceilings were original from the mid 1500s.  Kind of amazing, considering that they were in excellent shape.

But, as you can see, there was certainly a LOT of effort put into the design of the gardens, particularly close to the back of the house.

If you think those giant shrubs look a bit odd, then you aren't alone. These yew trees were planted in 1680 and during the first century of growth, they were pruned into a cone shape.

The desired look of shrubbery changed, and the trees were left to grow into a "natural" yew shape.  After considerable time, it was decided that the shrubs should be more refined and pruned into "dome" shapes which is how they are trimmed today.  It takes a crew of many gardeners three months to complete the pruning that is done yearly on these Yew trees. 

What I found to be entertaining was the carefully cut out windows and walkways, as well as alcoves for sitting on a bench nestled beneath.  

And I do have to admit that I never saw apple trees pruned into shapes like the ones planted here.  What a clever idea!

There was a small orangery in the back that had some beautiful potted plants.

and bluebells were scattered about, as we have seen most places we've been.

And there was the attention given to us by a squatter peacock. 

The staff has no idea where he has come from, but he certainly does seem to think that the castle is his!

And here is one last photo taken from the bottom garden, featuring a bit of blue sky in the background. 

After our disappointing inside tour, we headed to Pontcysyllite Aqueduct. 

But first, we stopped at the Chapel Tea house that had been recommended to us.

I chose the Victoria Sponge.

  It was delicious!

The Aqueduct  was built by Thomas Telford from 1795 to 1805.  It stands over the River Dee with the central columns at a height of 126 feet. It was made a UNESCO site in 2009, for outstanding value.  The Aqueduct was designed to extend the canals that transported people and goods from one village to another.  A horse would walk along the canal, pulling the boats along.  

Honestly, I don't know how those horses managed to cross at that height!  I must admit that I became extremely anxious on the way over, and, again, on the way back!  Especially when sharing the sidewalk with other people coming the other direction.  

I did manage to push aside my fears to take a couple of photographs.

Marty took the last photo.  I just might be gritting my teeth!

The next village in line along this in-the-air canal is Llangollen.  Don't ask me how to pronounce it as the double ll makes quite a harsh sound when spoken.  The town is considered to be part of the 11 mile stretch making up the UNESCO site.

We went to park the car and realized that we needed a Pay and Display ticket to pop in our window.  When we went to the machine to purchase the ticket, imagine our surprise to find the directions to be in Welsh with no English choice!  Luckily, we had used a machine at the aqueduct and were able to remember the directions to complete the transaction.  

Llangollen certainly had some interesting sites to discover.  Right out of the parking lot was a Royal mailbox, festively decorated for the Coronation last weekend. 

Up the road a bit was Plas Newydd, once inhabited by the "Ladies of Llangollen",  Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, who ran away from a life in Ireland to establish residence as a couple here in this beautiful gothic house with charming gardens. 

Across the river, we explored the canal that leads to the aqueduct that we had walked across earlier.

Such a picturesque walk!

In the center of a square stands a celtic cross, erected as a World War I memorial.

We then headed to the Corn Mill Restaurant for dinner. 

It is located right on the edge of the River Dee. 

Since I had reserved prior to leaving for the trip, we were given a table for two, with this lovely view to enjoy.

And the food was excellent. 

The perfect ending to a lovely day!

Gallivanting through Wales

 "Take a moment and unwind"....that's what Classic FM radio has just suggested.  

That is certainly easy to do as I listen to beautiful music softly playing in the sitting room that is separate from the bedroom here in our hotel.   I'm not sure that it gets much better than this.

Especially with this beautiful sunset peeking through the window in the room.

How gorgeous is that?

We are in Shropshire, just a stone's throw from Wales, and we will actually be crossing back and forth over the border for the next couple of days as we explore all the beauty that this area has to offer. 

We left sunny skies in Conwy this morning, and headed to the National Trust Site of Erddig. We arrived early, and were immediately set up for a tour of the grounds with Jeremy, a volunteer who was versed in the history of this place.

The original owner broke ground for the house in 1684 but he went bankrupt within 25 years, and the house was sold to a prominent lawyer from London. 

He added a wing to either side of the main house and filled it with fine furniture.  He had no children, and bequeathed the estate to his nephew, Simon Yorke in 1733.

In the 240 years that the York family owned Erddig, the house was extended a second time, and more land was purchased where the family owned outbuildings that were rented by the tenant farmers.  

The house was gifted in its entirety, including over 30,000 items in its inventory.  One of the treasures discovered by the trust was the original garden plans from 1680.  The trust set out to recreate the gardens so that they would reflect the original time period of the house.

After our very informative tour, we had a bit of time to walk around prior to the opening of the house for a tour inside. 

Beautiful, don't you think?

We then headed to the house entrance, which was set up quite differently than other house tours.  One enters through the servants' quarters,  and ascends to the upper floors while on the tour. 

One thing of note, that I found endearing, was that the servants were considered to be quite valuable here. In entering the servant's hall, we saw numerous photos of various persons who had played an important role in the running of the house and the grounds. 

Gardeners and housekeepers

The staff's photo taken in 1852

with many of the same staff members in 1912.

Phillip York had the foresight to photograph all of the staff, and wrote anecdotes about each around the frames.  Before the use of photography, he had pictures hand painted.

Let's face it, that was really quite unusual. 

Here you see the housekeeper's room

and those familiar bells that alert the servants, hanging along the servants' hall.

From here we ventured up to the main level, where we walked through the dining room.  The photo at the end of the table, on the wall, is the original Simon Yorke who was bequeathed the house upon his uncle's death.

On the opposite wall was a painting of Simon's wife, Elizabeth.  

I thought it was stunning.

Walking through the rooms, there was a standing pipe organ for entertainment in the music room

and a chapel on the grounds that the family would have attended. It has since been deconsecrated. 

The upstairs rooms were not viewable at the time, as someone from the National Trust was photographing silks in the bedroom, so we did not have the opportunity to explore the bedrooms, but we were fine with that, and headed in the car to our next destination:  Chirk Castle.

This time, we were visiting what had originally been a late 13th century fortress, built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk under the rule of King Edward I.  It was designed to keep Wales under English rule.  There's no doubting upon nearing the vast structure, that it served as an authentic castle. 

There is even a dungeon under the one wing, but we chose not to explore it.  

In 1595, the castle was purchased by Sir Thomas Myddelton, a successful London merchants.  His intent was to convert it to a comfortable tudor home.  The castle was passed onto his son, who was proclaimed as baronet by King Charles II in 1661.  The original proclamation is behind glass, hanging on a wall in the armory. 

Walking up the ornate stairway, two paintings caught my eye.  The first is Rosamund Clifford, from the early 18th century.  

The second was Jane Shore, also 18th century. 

Both were mistresses to past Kings of England and I find it interesting that they would be recognized as such.

Once upstairs, one enters the dining room.  I immediately recognized the decorative style as that of Robert Adam.

The gold gilding is exquisite. 

The next room is the Saloon.  I learned that a saloon is merely a name for a room that sits between the dining room and the drawing room.

Above the fireplace here hangs the portrait of the future Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Wales in the years 1702-1707, and the first monarch of Great Britain until she died in 1714. 

I peeked out the window to marvel at the grounds in view.

Another priceless item on display is the Kings Cabinet.  It was a gift from King Charles II to Sir thomas Myddelton II in 1661, fur supporting the restoration of the Monarchy after the English Civil Wars. 

Considering all of the turmoil that the castle went through in years following, I'm amazed that it was kept safe from harm!

 We headed through the courtyard 

to the tea room for a little treat.   I chose a coronation biscuit which was melt-in-my mouth delicious!

And I was very entertained by the crocheted version of the new King and Queen, made by the woman running the counter at the shop.

How clever is that? 

We decided to brave the weather and explore the gardens.  Well.. to be honest, I'm pretty sure that I convinced Marty that we should do so because when would we get that opportunity again? So, be warned, you will see some threatening dark skies looming.

We were told that the shubbery was cut to resemble a Welsh woman's hat from days of old, and that the shapes reflected what the bushes would have looked like originally.  I just found the detail to be amazing. 

By now our luck had run out, and rain began to fall.  We found shelter to enjoy the surrounds for a bit.

But it became all too obvious that this was far from a passing storm.  So, we headed back the path, out of the garden, but not before I convinced Marty to let me take his photo in front of one of the bushes so that one could get the perspective of size. 

We made the long trek down to the car, and got thoroughly drenched.  In fact, I'm fairly certain that I could wring the water out of my jacket.  I did have a raincoat in the car, but when we arrived,  the sun was shining with a hint of a dark cloud here and there.  Guess we misjudged that!

But, we were no worse the wear, and drove to our hotel, located in Osterwy.  It has recently been refurbished and is really charming, with a lot of attention to comfort detail. 

And, better yet, it has a restaurant, where we thoroughly enjoyed dinner without having to walk through the rain!

Until tomorrow for those of you following along!