Dyffryn Gardens Voted Top Special Place in Wales

The Vale of Glamorgan beauty spot has joined last year's winner Penarth Pier Pavilion in the Special Places hall of fame.

Over the past 12 weeks thousands of people have been voting for their top Special Places in Wales, as part of National Trust Wales’s national conversation to find the nation’s most treasured place.

Dyffryn Gardens was placed in the top five in July as winner of the parks and gardens category, and was this week announced as the people's official number one Special Place in Wales.

Launched in May, Special Places kick-started a summer of campaigning by many iconic places in Wales to be the place that represents all that’s great about our country.

An iconic Welsh landmark that’s steeped in history, Dyffryn Gardens scooped more than a third of the final votes, and was nominated for its breath-taking landscaped gardens, which include its famous cacti collection, arboretum and the recently-renovated 1920s garden rooms.

Nestled in the heart of Vale of Glamorgan, the site was taken on by the National Trust in 2013 and since then has reinforced its reputation as a must-see tourist attraction for visitors both old and new.

Its latest projects include the restoration of its famous garden rooms, which saw a number of the intimate garden rooms restored back to their 1920s splendour. These garden rooms re-opened just last month as part of the gardens’ Late Night Thursday events over the summer period.

In the last two weeks alone, more than 4,000 votes have poured in for Dyffryn Gardens.

Speaking of the accolade, Property manager at Dyffryn Gardens, Gerry Donovan said, “We are blown away by the support that members of the public have shown for us. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has voted for us. Winning special places is such an honour especially as we were up against such beautiful and inspiring places. We hope that from winning lots more people will hear about us so that they can experience the magic of Dyffryn too.”

Special Places ambassador, TV personality and weather presenter, Sian Lloyd presented the team at Dyffryn with their prize which includes money for a celebration event and official winners plaque.

Speaking of the win, Sian said, “Special Places brought so many famous landmarks to the fore, but it’s easy to see why Dyffryn Gardens stole our hearts this summer and walked away with the prize. The team at the gardens have put so much work into bringing the famous gardens to life over the last few years – the place is  steeped in history and it’s very clear it has touched the lives of so many locals and out-of-towners who come and visit the gardens all year round. There was some amazing competition this year but I’m confident the right winner came out on top!”

The all-Wales competition brought together the nation’s leading heritage and tourism bodies in a joint celebration of all the places in Wales the people deem so special, including Cadw, Cynnal Cymru, Heritage Lottery Fund, Visit Wales, RSPB, Ramblers Cymru and Keep Wales Tidy.

Heritage Lottery Fund also played a significant role in the restoration of Dyffryn Gardens, providing a number of grants to bring both the gardens and house back to their full glory in 2006.