Happy Valley Botanical Gardens are tucked away at the side of the Great Orme just along from the pier. The land was that of a former quarry which was gifted to the town by Lord Mostyn in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. The quarry was turned into gardens with an open air theatre and miniature golf course which has since been turned back into gardens and a ski slope and toboggan run.
After exploring the castle we set off to walk around the grounds and gardens, using the free map we’d been given at the entrance to navigate. Since it was a very hot day and we were travelling with my elderly father we’d already decided that we wouldn’t do the whole three mile walk but concentrate on the nearest of the gardens to the castle and part of the woods.
Wandering along Conwy’s city walls I had to stop and investigate what I’m sure you’ll agree is a pretty imposing sculpture that’s hard to miss. I was then even more intrigued to discover a whole row of sculptures some of which are attached onto the town walls.
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.
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.
Marking the boundary of the City of London these dragons are from the London Coal Exchange which was demolished in the 1960s. The Corporation of London’s street committee selected the statues as the model for the boundary markers in 1964 and replicas were erected at main entrances to the City.
Liverpool Town Hall, base for the Lord Mayor, was built in 1749 and designed by John Wood.
Conwy is a lovely small town on the North Wales coast with a skyline dominated by Conwy Castle and the town walls which date from the 13th century and both of which will feature in a future post. On the banks of the Conwy estuary the town (and castle) had a good defensive position on rocky elevated ground and also where a narrowing of the river allowed for crossings at slack tide.
On my most recent visit to Woodthorpe Grange Park I went to have a look around the Plant Shop and saw that the Tropical House was open. I haven’t been inside for probably at least a decade because it has had some very odd opening hours, but now I see they are keeping it open at the same time as the shop, so Monday-Sunday 10-4. There’s been a nursery (in the flower sense!) at Woodthorpe since the 1920s and the flower displays that adorn the city during the spring and summer and for the Britain in Bloom and other competitions in Nottingham are grown here; the shop sells off excess stock as well as locally produced gifts.
This church is the parish church of Liverpool and is also referred to as the Sailor’s Church, for its relationship to the Mersey and its shipping. There’s been a place of worship on the site for more than 750 years.
