This circular route starts and finishes at Bodysgallen Hall, a five star historic hotel near Llandudno, from where you can venture further south into Snowdonia and round to Anglesey to visit three other spectacular gardens. Bodysgallen itself has a beautiful garden that has been meticulously restored since the 1980s, set within parkland of over 200 acres which is yours to explore. The elaborate 17th-century parterre is a highlight with an elaborate knot pattern of box, lavender and aromatic herbs surrounding a sundial dating back to 1678. The garden also has a rose garden, a working kitchen garden to supply the restaurant, and several follies. Time your visit right, and you may be able to join one of the regular garden tours led by head gardener Robert Owen.
From Bodysgallen, the renowned Bodnant gardens are only six miles away. With sweeping lawns, formal borders and parterres, and woodland walks and meadows, Bodnant is a varied and intriguing garden with collections of interesting plants garnered over 150 years. There are no less than five National Collections here, including magnolias and rhododendrons, which will be looking their best in April, as well as Wales’ largest collection of champion trees. Notable architectural details in the garden include the much photographed Pin Mill, an ornate 18th-century building on the Canal Terrace and the Georgian Old Mill in the Dell. Whatever time of year you visit, there will be something of interest to capture the eye. The gardens are open daily, 10am-4pm.
Continue into the heart of Snowdonia to visit Plas Brondanw, a garden created in the early 20th century by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis (who was also the man behind the Italianate village of Portmeirion nearby). The garden is populated by quirky topiary pieces and avenues of clipped evergreens that frame views to the Snowdonia range beyond. Stone follies, statuary and ironwork in the distinctive Portmeireon turquoise make this a theatrical masterpiece with touches of humour as a reminder of its creator. Outside the formal gardens, a woodland walk winds up to a magnificent folly - a ruined tower that looks ancient but was built in 1915 to honour Williams-Ellis’s marriage. The garden, featured in House & Garden in 2022, is open daily 10am-4pm with an honesty box system.
If you have time, visit Portmeirion itself, which has its own garden to explore. Known as the Gwyllt (meaning wild wood), the 70 acre woodland garden has paths that open up to reveal spectacular views over the Porthmadog estuary. There is also a secret Japanese garden with a pagoda and a waterlily lake, and many unusual species of trees and shrubs including the garden’s very own rhododendron cultivar, a red-flowered form called ‘Gwyllt King’. Portmeirion is open daily 9.30am-6.30pm (5.30pm November-March).
The final garden on this route is Plas Cadnant Hidden Garden, which is just the other side of the Menai Bridge on Anglesey. Featured in House & Garden in 2022, the garden has been restored over the past 30 years and includes a former 19th-century walled kitchen garden with yew pyramids and herbaceous borders and a dramatic valley garden with a tumbling river and steep paths edged by exotic trees and shrubs. In spring, the woodland slopes are carpeted with bluebells, while magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons provide a colourful understorey in the wooded valley. The gardens are open on certain days in the week, April 2 to October 31, 12am-5pm. Check their website for details.
