News

Some things never change

It was the most beautiful day of the summer so far when I was at the National Botanic Garden of Wales this week, so I was only too glad to go out to deliver some leaflets to various places.  As I walked down to the Aqualab and then to the Gatehouse, the Garden was lively and busy with visitors.  It felt as though everyone was in a holiday mood  – relief that it wasn’t raining no doubt.

The train was going around and the buggies were up and down the Broadwalk ferrying people up to the Great Glass House.  There wasn’t much to do in the office so I thought I would take the opportunity to go and visit the dig.  For those of you who don’t know; archaeologists are hoping to find out about the regency mansion that stood just inside Waun Las NNR.  Last year they uncovered what they believe to be a cobbled area at the front of the house and this year they hope to find more about the extent of the building and its gardens.  Perhaps it’s the romantic in me but I can just imagine ladies with beautiful gowns and parasols walking in the gardens (it doesn’t rain in my imagination) and gentlemen doing whatever gentlemen did in those days.  Carriages rumbling into the stable block and gardeners picking fruit in the walled garden.  Yes, I have got a vivid imagination, too much “Pride and Prejudice” I expect.  Presently, there is nothing to see of the original garden but the archaeologists believe that there were water gardens and hope to find evidence to back this up.  I wonder what plants they would have had; old fashioned roses, lavender, hollyhocks, who knows but with DNA for our plants now available who knows what we might find out.

Anyway I wandered into Waun Las and all that was to be seen was a marquee up by what was obviously the dig site.  I went up and was a bit disappointed that none of the team was there.  There were a couple of horses sheltering from the sun but when I asked them if they knew where everyone was they just looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language – unfortunately I don’t speak horse.  A trench had been opened showing the cobbled area and a large hole where a column might have been, but I was struck by how neatly the turves were rolled and stacked ready for when the site has to be covered up again.  I took a couple of photos and retraced my steps back towards the office.  I was really hot in my tee shirt and cropped trousers so I can’t think how uncomfortable it must have been for those regency ladies in long dresses with all the paraphernalia that went with them.

As I got to the top of the hill the view across the valley was beautiful and it made me think that this was probably not much different from the view that the residents of the original mansion would have looked at all those years ago.

Pam Murden