Bodnant gardens - laburnum and roses

This gorgeous sight was my main reason for wanting to visit North Wales at this time of year. 

The 55 metre-long laburnum tunnel at Bodnant flowers for a fortnight or so in late May/early June, and although I've visited the gardens before I've never managed to time it just right. 

It seems like everyone else has the same idea, and for the peak flowering times the National Trust website advises booking in advance. Even so, I was surprised how many people were there. Like me, they all wanted a million photos, whether just as memories or to fill their Instagram posts, and it was hard to get a shot without people in the background.

 It's an absolutely wonderful sight - a tunnel of flowers curving into the distance, the sun slanting through the foliage. I don't understand how the trees are pruned to achieve this. My single laburnum flowers erratically, and never in this profusion. 

The tunnel was both our first and last stop in our walk round the gardens, as towards closing time I hoped some of the crowds would have departed - and it paid off. The area wasn't empty but it did give me chance for some good shots without intruding on others' privacy..

There's more to Bodnant though than a laburnum tunnel, no matter how magnificent it is.

From this high point in the garden we wandered across lawns to the terraces in front of the house, filled at the moment with gorgeous roses, and with views out over the lower levels and pond, past the Conwy valley to distant mountains.

Dropping down to the lower terraces I came across another wonder, almost invisible from above - a rose-covered pergola on the grandest of scales.

The roses clamber up and over walls and pillars, twine round columns and sprawl over arches like a scene from Sleeping Beauty.

I can't be certain but they appear to be the same Alberic Barbier rose I have in my own garden, where it uses a birch tree as a climbing frame.

The rose pergola leads down to this lowest terraced area with lily pond, and beyond here the garden style changes to a looser, wilder design.

In the hope of finding the lower cafe open we followed the winding paths down the hillside to the stream at the bottom, but we were out of luck. The garden continues up the opposite hillside but for me it was time to turn round and head uphill for one more look at the laburnum.

Back at the upper cafe we were in more luck. The actual cafe had closed but a hatch was still open serving takeaway drinks and ice cream (raspberry and pannacotta; very nice). It's a sensible solution to a problem I often have - namely that I like to finish my visit with a drink or something light to eat but cafes tend to shut at the same time if not earlier than the visitor attraction. I like this takeaway idea, and wish more places would try it.