The 200-year-old wall of the beautiful Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens has been severely damaged by a tsunami-like flood of water that rushed in following the torrential downpours that have affected several parts of the UK over the last few days.
Described as one of the best-kept secrets in North Wales, the hidden world of Plas Cadnant Gardens, situated at the side of the Menai Strait, hidden from view close to Menai Bridge on the Isle of Anglesey, has suffered serious destruction as flood water surged into the grounds.
A large section of the 200-year-old wall has also gone.
Mr. Tavernor tweeted “Heartbroken to announce #StormEva has left devastation in the gardens today.” (Images: Top – plascadnantgardens.co.uk. Bottom – twitter.com/PlasCadnant)
Owner Anthony Tavernor, 64, who has spent the last 20 years restoring the gardens and bringing the site back to life, was quoted by WalesOnline as saying:
“(The storm) has left devastation throughout the gardens today including washing away a large section of the 200-year-old walled garden.”
According to Mr. Tavernor, the walled garden, which lies in a valley, acted like a dam when rainfall peaked on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day, however, parts of the wall started to break away.
Mr. Tavernor added:
“There’s probably about 10% that’s been damaged with the flooding. The whole garden was forgotten. Over the last 20 years, it’s been a huge restoration project. The walled garden is in a valley. What’s happened is the weight of the water has pushed the one wall down.”
“It’s been like a dam – like a tsunami. There’s a lot of serious damage. It’s going to take some work. It’s really devastating to see the damage. We know the walled garden is well over 200 years old. It’s obviously survived everything thrown at it since then, so this must be the worst flooding in over 200 years.”
Mr. Tavernor says he will restore the Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens to their former glory. (Image: plascadnantgardens.co.uk)
Mr. Tavernor, who says it is more than his livelihood – it’s his ‘passion’ – hopes he will be able to restore it all. “It’s a labour of love. It’s a massive setback – we’ll get there in the end,” he insisted.
Before the flood, the new garden, which was being created on an historic site, was becoming a plantsman’s paradise. It is considered among the liveliest twenty gardens in Wales and is featured in a new book – The Finest Gardens of Wales – Tony Russell.
Video – North of England floods devastate areas