Bodnant House and Gardens, Conwy, North Wales, UK
'If heaven or nirvana ever get filled up then there's always room at Bodnant.'
With 80 acres of the most delightful gardens to be found anywhere in the world, this fabulous combination of formally planted and landscaped gardens, woodlands, streams, waterfalls, ponds, meadows and terraces would provide succour for any soul in perpetuity.
For the living, however, this is indeed a 'must-visit' for lovers of gardens and nature.
Planted and developed over 150 years and gifted to the National Trust by the McLaren family, Bodnant Gardens nestle in the foothills of the Snowdonia National park providing an impressively broad palette of plants and planting styles.
This really is a garden for any season with large collections of shrubs, trees and richly planted borders to provide colour and interest all year round.
Spring is very well served when the Magnolia, Camellia, Rhododenron and Azalea that line the steep banked gullies leading down to the Dell will be a blaze of colour, set off with bulbs bursting through the woodland floors.
Later in that season the famous Laburnum Arch turns on it's golden fleece lining - a feature often copied but Bodnant did it first and to spectacular effect.
This reviewer arrived in June when the rose gardens were awash with colour and fragrance to overwhelming effect, though the mixed borders were also fleshing out to be at their mutli-faceted best in mid summer.
Taller perennials like Astilebe and Rogersia provide backdrop to the lower shrubs, annual flowers and grasses including Poppies, Astrantia, Paeony, Aquilegia, Cistus, Dianthus, Freesia and a host of Geranium and Pelargonium of all sizes. While the Dogwoods brighten longer vistas with their China white, flat flowers, splayed out across their foliage and the Smokebush ignite their steely bronze glow to reflect on all around.
In the Rose gardens pathways lined with richly blue Campanula set off the lush displays of beds each planted with just one rose variety to make a mass impact while also allowing individual bloom appreciation. The roses are mostly mass blooming Floribunda hybrids, many from David Austin, though the climbers and scramblers are also given plenty of room to cover pergolas and archways, combining at times with Clematis, creating the ultimate romantic garden fantasy.
Water features are used to good effect with larger tranquil lakes reflecting the towering Cedars above, the elegant Canal Terrace set in Italianate formal settings and the newly restored 'Far End Lake' providing a peaceful setting for birdwatching or just simple contemplation.
For those who like to stretch their legs there are innumerable pathways that wind along the side of the Dell, lined with Azalea while revealing some of the most spectacular 'Champion' trees as they tower upwards including some truely awesome Redwoods.
Bodnant should, by default, be in everyone's bucket list. It is not possible to be un-moved by this this place. It presents a microcosm of the best of nature in one convenient and beautiful location. This reviewer has visited many of the world's great gardens and I can say with great confidence that its difficult to find any better than this.
In December 2021 storm Arwen swept through the gardens causing considerable damage and loss of some of the gardens oldest trees and rhododendrons. The pictures displayed here were taken before the storm.
Author: Bob Saunders.
The National Trust have provided only a couple of places for refreshments within the gardens, though the 'Old Mill' makes a wonderful setting for a cuppa and ice cream.
The larger Pavillion cafe serving a wider menu is situated at the entrance by the car park, a suitable distance away.
The Nursery and Garden Shop are both comprehensive and intriguing with many plants that are seen in the gardens, for sale as you leave.
Generally access is good, pathways are mainly easy to navigate, some paths are unsuitable for wheelchairs, though these are clearly marked and few in number.
By Road:
Just off A470, signposted from A55, junction 19
Parking: 150 yards walk to entrance
By Bus:
The number 25 bus from Llandudno stops outside the gate, please see the Arriva Wales website for bus times.
Tal-y-CafnConwyNorth Wales LL28 5REUnited Kingdom
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodnant-garden
bodnantgarden@nationaltrust.org.uk
9am to 5pm every day
Adults: £14.00
Child :£7.00
Family: £35.00
Jess - Sheffield: I totally agree with your review. This IS the best garden, by a long shot, anywhere in the UK and after all, we do have the best gardens in the world - sorry, rest of world - thats the way it is..
Derryllea - Brisbane: It seems that the National Trust is upping their game on gardens - not just castles and manor houses. It looks like Bodnant Gardens is run by the RHS - it isn't - but its that good..
Mitsuko - Melbourne: We like Bodnant garden very much and the Welsh Food Centre closeby is also very good. Go there too..
Bodnant Gardens Entrance
Terrace Lake Bodnant
Terrace Lake, Bodnant
Mixed Borders, Bodnant
Foliage contrasts, Bodnant
Stipa, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - East Garden Summer Border
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - East Garden
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Deutzia 'Strawberry Fields'
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - The Rose Garden
Rose garden Bodnant
Rose garden Bodnant - a chaos of colour
Rosa David Austin Golden Celebrations, Bodnant.
The Rose Garden at Bodnant Gardens
Rosa David Austin Sceptered Isle, Bodnant Gardens
Rose Bed, Sophy's Rose, Bodnant
The Portland Rose at Bodnant Gardens
Rose garden, Bodnant
Laburnum Arch -Bodnant Gardens photo GerritR
Rill, Bodnant
Bodant Gardens, Wicker Statue
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Terrace Pond
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Upper Terrace
Aquilegia, Bodnant
Astrantia, Bodnant Gardens
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Iris sibirica 'White Swirl'
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - The Pin Mill Pond
Pin Mill pond, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - The Bath
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Paeonia suffruticosa 'Godaishu'
Dianthus 'Rainbow Lovliness', Bodnant
Mature tree collection, Bodnant
Many paths, Bodnant
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Walking options aplenty, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Woodland paths
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Acer Glade
Shady walks, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Cornus kousa 'Pink Form'
Waterfall Bridge, Bodnant
Dell Stream, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Old Mill and cafe
Old Mill Bridge, Bodnant
Old Mill, Bodnant
Martagon Lily, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Stream Walk
Ferns in the Dell stream, Bodnant
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - The Poem
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Skating Pond
Bodnant Gardens, Conwy, North Wales - Furnace Meadow with sweeping views of Welsh countryside
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