Exploring the world, one place at a time
Nestled at the bottom of a secluded part of the Aeron Valley in Ceredigion, west Wales, you'll find Llanerchaeron, a charming country estate that's home to a little known gem – an early Palladian villa by the renowned Regency architect John Nash. In 1789, Colonal William Lewes inherited Llanerchaeron, then a small country estate made... Continue Reading →
Over the summer I was working at the National Eisteddfod, the annual Welsh cultural festival that this year took place near Tregaron in west Wales. Deciding to make something of a weekend of it before I started work, I stopped off at Llandeilo in the neighbouring county of Carmarthenshire so I could spend a couple... Continue Reading →
Earlier this month, I paid my annual visit to Dyffryn Gardens, the delightful National Trust-run property and gardens just south of Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan. I've been really busy the last few months with one thing or another (hence no blogging) and almost completely forgot about my annual visit. But as soon as... Continue Reading →
Last weekend I finally paid my annual visit to Dyffryn Gardens, the National Trust-run stately home and gardens just outside Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan. For one reason or another, I hadn't had chance to visit earlier in the year and was beginning to worry I wouldn't make it before the end of summer.... Continue Reading →
Over the bank holiday weekend, we set off on a little roadtrip to Westbury Court Garden, a small water garden in Westbury-on-Severn in Gloucestershire. I'd seen a few photos of the garden on Instagram a few weeks earlier and intrigued by what I'd seen, decided to check it out. The garden was created in the... Continue Reading →
Looking for places to stop on my drive back to Cardiff at the end of my 2019 north Wales road trip, I came upon Powis Castle, a National Trust property just outside Welshpool in mid Wales. It's an enormous castle with stately interiors and a glorious garden, and as it was a third of the... Continue Reading →
Amid a deep, steep valley on the banks of the Conwy River, to the east of Snowdonia National Park, lies the beautiful, sprawling Bodnant Garden. One of the finest gardens in Wales, it's an 80-acre estate of woodland, Italianate terraces, formal gardens, lily ponds and wildflower meadows packed with trees, flowers and shrubs from all... Continue Reading →
The elegant manor house, Plas Newydd, is the ancestral seat of the Marquess of Anglesey. Situated on the banks of the Menai Strait on Ynys Môn (the Isle of Anglesey), the stately home boasts superb views of Snowdonia National Park and is surrounded by park and woodland that's home to an array of wildlife, including... Continue Reading →
When lockdown was in full swing earlier this year, I didn't think my annual spring/summer visit to Dyffryn Gardens would be possible and fully expected 2020 to be a gap in my annual chronicles. So I was pleasantly surprised when my mother told me Dyffryn Gardens had reopened in early July, following the easing of... Continue Reading →
The banks of the River Thames to the south-west of London are dotted with stately homes and grand palaces. From Kew Palace to the Duke of Northumberland's Syon Park, to Marble Hill House and the majestic Hampton Court Palace. So when I was browsing through the National Trust's handbook and came across Ham House and... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 