Embarrasment of riches

Most days I don't have a big choice of photographs but today I have an embarrasment of riches.

8:30 this morning I was on the road and arrived at Bodnant Gardens soon after 10. I expected to be fighting my way through the hoards but it was surprisingly quiet. I picked up a map and resolved to do the walk to the furthest reach of the garden. Although the weather was grey and a little bit drizzly nothing could dull the colours of the beautiful flowers. The most beautiful for me were the blue hydrangeas (see extra).

The walk through the wooded area was interesting and I loved the tree that seemed to be a man (see extra). Sadly there was a huge seqoia lying on its side, a casualty of last year's storm Arwen. The tree was an amazing 51m tall. A set of boards explained how devastating the storm had been. Remedial work will continue into next year and beyond. Cuttings of the rare Bodnant rhodedendrons which were destroyed in the storm have been taken to a nursey in Cornwall for micropropagation. It's amazing what's possible these days. The third extra is of a hidden pond I came across on the walk. 

After puffing my way back uphill to the entrance I stopped for a cup of tea in the cafe and rather liked the paper rose that was sat on the table in a vase (extra). I finished off with a browse through the shop selling local arts and crafts. There was a surprising selection of hand made items - cushions, lamps, jewellery etc as well as many marvellous paintings. I could have bought any number of items but having just decluttered...

I then drove on to Llandudno. It was the middle of the day and parking spaces were at a premium. I finally found a spot right at the eastern extremity of the promenade, just before the Little Orme. I sat on the beach for a while watching the yachts racing to and fro. There was a brisk wind but it wasn't cold.

After that I took the North Wales Expressway (Expressway?) back to the cottage.