Northern Wales (Bodnant Gardens, Llandudno)

After exploring Conwy (see earlier post), we drove to Bodnant Gardens. It is a National Trust site, meaning we were able to enter & park for free with our membership cards. The gardens are all outdoors, and the site of the famous Laburnum Arch, which blooms in May/June. You can see a picture of it in bloom here. It was definitely still hibernating on March 19! However, we were pleasantly surprised to see as many plants blooming as we did -- azaleas, rhododendron, camellias, snowdrops, daffodils, and a couple of tulips. The magnolia trees also were starting to bloom! We really enjoyed the valley within the Gardens, where there was a stream and lots of waterfall features. It was a bit steep for the stroller at times but we got a workout in. In fact, our phone/pedometers told us we took over 15,000 steps this day!

The bare Laburnum Arch

Bright azaleas!

Loved these guys, but don't know their name.

The house on the premises

Stopped for a quick bite in the gardens

Heading down the valley

A tired little girl after a long day outside in the stroller/pack.

We headed back to the B&B after touring the gardens. Andrew brought us some fresh milk for tea, as well as some traditional Welsh-cakes ("Welshies"). The Welshies were a cross between a pancake and a biscuit, with raisins mixed in. Charlotte loved them!


That evening, we drove about 20 minutes to the town of Llandudno. It is a seaside resort area, but it seemed pretty empty in March. We ate dinner at a pub called the Cottage Loaf, which was tasty, then headed for a walk along the Promenade after dark. It was quiet and peaceful walking along the shore, there were barely any waves in the bay. We saw a few joggers and walkers, but it was fairly abandoned at this time of year.