Penrhyn Castle & Garden

Penrhyn Castle, at Llandygai on the edge of Bangor, is a vast neo-Norman country house built in the 1820s and 1830s by Thomas Hopper, often called his finest work. It is cared for by the National Trust, and while many visitors come for the interiors and the art collection, the garden and grounds deserve time of their own.

The main garden feature is the Victorian walled garden, laid out on a slope and planted with exotic and tender plants that benefit from the shelter and the mild North Wales coastal climate. Around the castle, the grounds include specimen trees and woodland walks, with views towards the mountains of Snowdonia and over the Menai Strait. The stable block houses a railway museum, a reminder of the slate quarry railways that served the estate's industry.

For gardeners, the walled garden is a good example of how walls and a sloping site create warm pockets where less hardy plants can thrive, which is worth copying with a sunny wall at home. The grounds also make a pleasant walk in their own right. Penrhyn's wealth came from slave plantations in Jamaica and from slate quarrying, and the National Trust now presents both histories, so the visit is as much about people as plants. Expect hills and some longer walks between the castle and garden areas, and allow time for both indoors and outdoors.