Put this on your not-to-miss list. It’s a real fairytale. A South Wales valley garden that has lain hidden for 150 years is being painstakingly uncovered. The early Victorian garden at Penllergare on Swansea’s northern outskirts was created to show off the wealth of owner John Dillwyn Llewelyn. No expense was spared. In 1832 he started working on a new 1.5 mile carriage drive from Cadle Mill, followed in 1836 by extensive alterations to the house in the Classical style, adding a conservatory. Next he started on the landscape, carving out a terrace going down to the valley of the River Llan in the fashionable Romantic ‘Picturesque’ style. He dammed the river and created a series of lakes with boathouses and, using huge rocks, created a spectacular waterfall with three dramatic cascades.

Changing times left this picturesque landscape garden overgrown and derelict and the house demolished, but now with the help of One Historic Garden funding, the romantic qualities are being revived and opened up for public access: the lake is being revitalised and the exquisite workmanship of the stone terraces revealed. One visit may not be enough, for every week the picture is changing as the garden emerges from its slumber.
 
Natural History Adventure
Like many Victorian gentry, John Dillwyn Llewelyn was enthused by natural history and science, and he became a pioneering photographer. A wealth of contemporary imagery evokes the romantic vision of Penllergare Valley Woods, providing rich reference for the garden’s revival today as a spellbinding place of changing moods where nature is experienced with all the senses. Deep in the woods the sounds of birds – ravens, jays and goldfinches – draw you closer into their secret world, while bursts of spring bluebells, wild daffodils and rhododendron lift the heart. The sudden leap of a salmon makes you catch your breath. Wild, informal, even gothic, Nature unfolds as a succession of vistas, taking you back to Penllergare’s historic heyday and forwards to its flourishing future.