After leaving the Bodnant Gardens, we travelled further along the north coast of Wales, towards Bangor. After locating the gateway entrance to the castle grounds which was by way of a huge stone arch, we drove along a beautiful wooded drive to the large carpark. Leaving the car, we walked up a steep pathway that led us towards a vastt, grey , castle. as we were famished, we located the restaurant and had some nice food for lunch. After lunch we walked through the old kitchen area of the castle before walking round to the main entrance to begin the tour proper. There was an audio tour available which we decided would be very helpful. It was imaginatively produced so that the history of the castle was presented from the viewpoint of several of the servants who had worked there in its heyday! It is an imposing neo-Norman style castle that was built quite recently -1820-1845 - by Thomas Hopper for a very wealthy family - the Pennant family.
They had made their fortune from Jamaican sugar and Welsh slate. There are elaborate carvings, plaster work, and lots of pieces of beautiful furniture decorating the rooms - all designed in the Norman style.
We also saw an outstanding collection of paintings.
The Victorian kitchen and other servant's rooms ( including the scullery, the larder and the chef's sitting room) have been restored and also include facsimile productions of food as though preparations are in progress for a banquet in honour of a visit by the Prince of Wales in 1894. We also saw a 1 ton slate bed that was made for Queen Victoria to use. We were delighted to find that there is a doll's museum that displays a large collection of examples from the 19th and 20th centuries.
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