Penmaenuchaf - CADW Reg No. PGW (Gd) 37 (GWY) |
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There is a greater number of paths, more obviously recreational, which do not appear on
these maps, and are therefore presumably of early, twentieth-century date; some of
these can still be traced, while others are lost in the undergrowth. A very wide
grass walk runs east from the end of the lawn to a rocky bluff, where it becomes a
footpath; this walk is levelled and revetted with dry-stone walling (to a height
of 1.5m on the north), and was obviously created in this position to give an
excellent view of the house across the lawn as one walks back towards it -
something not obtained from either drive. There appears to be a semicircular
area on top of the bluff, up a few steps, which might well have been a view-point
for looking over the Mawddach estuary to the north, although the view is now
obscured by trees and shrubs.
Three sets of steps up on the south side of this walk presumably led to paths through the woods, one being the continuation of the path from the old drive to Wood Lawn, which is cut by the wide walk; but there is no sign of any stone edgings and the paths are now overgrown and disused The best of the rhododendrons in the park area are between the old and new drives, where there are some very large specimens of different varieties. The woodland near all three drives contains underplanting of rhododendron and laurel, and this extends some way into the woods around the current and former main drives, but does not appear to be present throughout; along the rear drive it is only a strip either side. There is a monkey puzzle tree (araucaria araucana) near this drive, and a giant sequoia (sequoiadendron giganteum) just beyond the stable yard gates, near the curve of the main drive. This is in a small group with some other large conifers. There are also some specimen conifers beside the main drive a little lower down. The hand of Charles Reynolds Williams can clearly be seen in the layout of the terraced formal garden, which is strongly reminiscent of that of his home, Dolmelynllyn, a few miles to the north, and he probably also planted many of the garden trees. However, whether he was responsible for re-routing the main drive, and to what extent he altered the park, is uncertain. He may in fact have planted much of the woodland, but as the wooded character of the park is one of the main differences from Dolmelynllyn, there is no strong reason for suggesting this.
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 The hand of Charles Reynolds Williams can clearly be seen in the layout of the terraced formal garden. |
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