Wales Attractions

Venue: Plas Brondanw Gardens    When: Daily

The stunning Plas Brondanw Gardens near Portmeirion offer a taste of Italy in the heart of north Wales. The mastermind behind the construction of this unusual Italianate enterprise was the eccentric Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who devoted his life to its creation between 1925 and 1976.

Six miles from the village Williams-Ellis designed at Portmeirion are his house and gardens (Plas Brondanw), where his love for all things Italian is expressed as wholly as it is found in the domes and columns of the buildings in the village.

There are classical busts all over the garden, elaborate iron gates, mermaid panels and a Folly Castle tower which adds a touch of the medieval to the otherwise neoclassical lines. The borders complement the surrounding colours of the coast and countryside so that the garden fits seamlessly into the landscape, in exactly the same manner as Portmeirion village.