Anglesey’s Secrets

Anglesey Abbey is well known for its winter garden. It is one of the few gardens in the country that comes into its own at this time of the year. The garden, laid out in the 1970s on land that was formerly a mere belt of trees, takes visitors on a twisting serpentine path.

 Every turn reveals a new colour or fragrance – it’s a multi-sensory experience, artfully curated by Anglesey’s talented team of gardeners led by Richard Todd. The finale of the path is a forest of silver birches– a fittingly breathtaking end to a magical garden experience.

The garden post-dates the era of Huttleston, 1^st Lord Fairhaven, who died in 1966 and bequeathed the house and grounds to the National Trust. But it continues to convey the aesthetic attention to detail that characterised his residency of the house – where visitors were encouraged not to enter the library before 6.30pm, so as not to leave unnecessary indents in the carefully brushed carpet.

Fairhaven was the son of Urban Broughton MP, who also purchased Runnymede in Surrey in order to save it for the nation. Magna Carta and the famous meadow where it was agreed are remembered in the collections on show at Anglesey – a reminder of the symbolic importance that the document held for Anglo-American families in particular.

On a visit to Anglesey this week, I discovered a new word – galathophile. It refers to collectors of snowdrops, which are having a particularly good season at Anglesey this year. I had not realised quite how varied snowdrops were until my visit. Richard explained to me that there are 20 species of the bulb, but that through cross-pollination there are very many more hybrids and variants. Some of these are indigenous to Anglesey. Specimens are kept in secret dells in the garden, off the visitor route and away from the predations of any wandering galanthophile. Some bulbs apparently change hands for significant amounts of money – but you need to know what you are looking for.

Another quirky secret was this window, in the library – with graffiti left by various members of another family with close links to the Fairhavens. 

The Queen Was Here