Bodnant Gardens ...

Hi Everybody,

This is Bodnant Gardens and  it was given to the National Trust as one of the few places that does not leave the house with it.

The gardens are beautiful and there for you to visit but the house is privately owned and cordoned off.

There are  many different perfumes are all around as you walk.

It is divided up into several areas each with a different theme and we took our time and wandered all around.

We walked to the Waterfall and we felt quite sorry that the hot weather was drying up the water course.

It looked such a sorry sight ... and then I spotted this sign that was at the side of the trees.

It tells you that the water is being deliberately diverted because they are building an Eel Pass to help these creatures breed.

They apologise for the loss of the spectacle ... as the falls are really lovely when they are in full flow ... but once you know that it is to help a living species to breed and survive then the loss is not that great.

 And once it is all complete then the water will be back to normal.

They plan on helping Salmon and Trout in the same way in the future.

So maybe another visit in the coming years will be on the cards to see just how far this project has gone in their conservation efforts.

Wandering the paths there was something different at each turn and this what seems like a little cottage came into view.

 It is actually a Mausoleum for the family that created the gardens.

Many generations are buried there and the gates are only opened on the last Tuesday of every  month for people to visit the inside.

Of course from the outside it is hard to read the inscriptions on the tombstones ... but if you are nosy like me ... and you put the lens to your camera right up to the grill and take your shot ...

then you get some idea of what  the marble inside is like.

It was very peaceful and is called The Poem and the following sign tells you more about the family and the building.

We continued our tour of the gardens and it is a large area.

There are squirrels racing up the tress in front of you and even though it was busy it was a clam place to be.

There are Lily Patches and Rose gardens

This building is being renovated and once completed will be open to the public to go into the tower part and look down the expanse of lawn and water.

I walked to the arch way that you can see in the centre of the building and from that angle I took ...

... this picture.

It looks back up what is called the Canal and the rose garden is to my right.

But the beautiful Water Lilies in that canal are just gorgeous and I had to walk over and take this close up so that you too can see the beauty of this flower.

These flowers are much bigger than they look and there are lots of them in pale pink, white and this lovely deep pink in the photo.

More tomorrow...

Hugs xx