Plas Bodegroes, now an hotel (nprn 26041), is situated on flat land just north-west of Pwllheli, near the coast, facing south-west. Parkland surrounds the house and garden and was once quite extensive, probably laid out when the house was built (1780s).

The house is located more or less in the middle of its gardens. These are bounded by walls and consist of a wooded area backing the house on the north and east, lawns and shrubberies laid out in front to the south and south-west, and a beech avenue, about 400m long, leading off to the south-west from the far side of the lawn. The garden is probably contemporary with eighteenth-century house. It is largely informal and appears to have consisted originally of shrubberies and a large lawn, its basic layout largely unchanged since 1836.

The wooded area is probably the remains of an original mixed plantation and shrubberies but with some newer planting. There are several different areas, including a largely unmanaged section north-west of the house, the car park area to the north and east, and an area on the east corner which contains the remains of a mound (possibly a former viewing point), and various branches of the drive. The main drive enters the wooded area of the garden from the north-east to the turning circle on the south-east. The parking area consists of several gravelled bays made amongst the trees north and east of the house. North-west of the house a small vegetable garden has also been created, the kitchen garden now being in separate ownership (700165).

A small semi-wild, or Japanese, garden is tucked into the corner of the walls bounding the garden on the north-west and the rear drive on the north-east. The farther into the corner one goes the wilder it becomes, with the gravel paths becoming grass and wild flowers superseding garden varieties. There are several narrow paths within a very small area making it possible to feel perfectly secluded. The network of gravel walks around the house and gardens was partly created after 1940.
From a level lawn to the south-west of the house a vista down the avenue is obtained. There are several trees, of various sizes and ages, planted in the lawn, most round the edges to preseve the view to the avenue. A recent, heart-shaped raised bed with stone revetting wall is in the middle of the area of lawn between two perimeter walks leading to the avenue.

An orchard, on the south-west side of the kitchen garden, which had become overgrown, appears to have been restored (aerial images).

Sources:
Cadw 1998: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales: Conwy, Gwynedd & the Isle of Anglesey, 258-61 (ref: PGW(Gd)15(GWY)).
Ordnance Survey second edition 25-inch map: sheet Caernarfonshire XL.7 (1901).
RCAHMW air photos: 965122/46.

RCAHMW, 16 May 2022

Site Record

Plas Bodegroes Garden, Pwllheli