Author Archives: Louise Jayne

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About Louise Jayne

Avid reader who enjoys travelling and taking photos of her adventures.

The Park Garden Trail 2023

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Louise Jayne

Sunday 11 June was the 25th year that the Park Estate in Nottingham (a private housing estate which in a previous life was the deer park for Nottingham Castle) have put on their Park Garden Trail. Residents in the estate open up some of their gardens to visitors with the fee of £7.50 going towards local charities. The event is held every two years (COVID notwithstanding) and it’s one of those things that I was vaguely aware happened but had never attended before, so I decided on a whim to do it this year, buying my ticket online the night before.

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Conwy Suspension Bridge

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Louise Jayne

Grade I listed, this is one of the first road suspension bridges in the world and is now cared for by the National Trust. It is right by Conwy Castle and is free to access. It’s an incredibly impressive structure and you can get some really good views of it from the top of the castle as well as at ground level.

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The Town Walls of Conwy

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Louise Jayne

The town walls of Conwy are part of the fortification of the town that includes the castle. They cover 1,400 yards in an almost unbroken circuit around the town. And the almost unbroken circuit is an important distinction because more than once I saw guidebooks/tour guides suggesting that you can walk around the town walls the same way as you can at York and no, you definitely can’t. In fact I found some extra COVID restrictions had been left in place with some of the walls closed off completely and others with instructions that the route was one way only – at some places that was completely impractical and if you’d followed the signs your only option would have been to jump up into the sea!

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Stonebridge City Farm – May 2023

Posted on June 6, 2023 by Louise Jayne

It had been a while since I’d been to the farm so I decided to pop by just after one of May’s many bank holidays so that I could see the lambs, and also I hadn’t yet been to see the meerkats which they now, somewhat randomly, have in their barn.

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Conwy Castle

Posted on May 30, 2023 by Louise Jayne

Conwy Castle, like its fellow Welsh castles of Beaumaris and Caernarfon are World Heritage sites and looked after by Cadw. Built between 1283 and 1287 under the orders of Edward I as part of his conquest of Wales it’s an impressive medieval fortress that absolutely dominates the skyline and is very well preserved for its age, including the most intact set of medieval royal apartments in Wales.

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St John’s Church, Carrington, Nottingham

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Louise Jayne

I visited St. John’s Church in Carrington back when we had some snow in March. The doors were locked so I couldn’t go inside but the graveyard proved to be quite interesting on its own. Building of the church began in 1841 thanks to an endowment from Ichabod Wright, a local banker who lived in Mapperley Hall not far from the church and which has since been turned into flats.

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St Grwst’s Church, Llanrwst

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Louise Jayne

I first spotted St Grwst’s Church from across the Conwy River when I was photographing the area and that reminded me that I’d read in the history of St Mary’s Church in Conwy that a connection to Llywelyn the Great could be found at St Grwst’s and it was somewhere worth visiting. According to legend a Welsh nobleman called Nefydd Hardd murdered a son of Owain Gwynedd, king of Gwynedd, North Wales and in atonement for his actions Nefydd’s son had the church built in 1170. It was dedicated to Grwst, a saint who had set up a church nearby in the 6th century.

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Llanrwst War Memorial

Posted on May 16, 2023 by Louise Jayne

Just to the left of Llanrwst Railway Station, heading towards the town, is the Llanrwst War Memorial. The memorial commemorates the dead of both World Wars including Janet Jones, who was a teacher before enlisting as one of the early members of the Women’s Royal Air Force. She died on 21 December 1918, after the war had ended, aged only 28. Her brother Hugh is also remembered here, he died in Gallipoli in 1915 aged just 23.

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Pont Fawr, Llanrwst, Wales

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Louise Jayne

Pont Fawr (Big Bridge) was built in the 1630s and is often called “Inigo Jones’ Bridge” after the architect of such buildings as Banqueting House and St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden. I say is often called, because there’s not actually a lot of evidence to prove that Inigo Jones was involved at all, but there isn’t anything to say he wasn’t either. A plaque on the bridge claims that Jones designed it at the behest of Sir John Wynn of, you guessed it, Gwydir Castle.

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Gorsedd Stone Circle, Llanrwst

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Louise Jayne

I was surprised on making my way to Gwydir Castle, to spot a stone circle in a field. I didn’t venture any further than this as I didn’t really have the time for a long detour but I did make a mental note to do some research when I got home. It turns out these are a rather recent addition, constructed for the National Eisteddfod of Wales (a large festival of music and poetry). The festival started in 1861 in Aberdare and happens annually in different locations around Wales. It first came to Llanrwst in 1951, when these stones were erected. The Gorsedd is an association of people who have made a significant contribution to Welsh language, literature and culture and is responsible for the ceremonial aspects of the National Eisteddfod which often takes place at the stone circles. A rather unusual bit of history but a nice addition to the scenery.

Categories: Llanrwst, Wales | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

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