Storm Arwen: Rare trees fall at Bodnant Gardens, Conwy

The trees fell in the Dell part of Bodnant Gardens

A clear up operation has begun at a National Trust estate after more than 50 rare old trees were blown down in Storm Arwen last week.

The trees at Bodnant Gardens in the Conwy Valley which were toppled in the gale force winds included a 140-year-old Coast Redwood and a rare Larch.

General manager, John Walker said: "I would say this is probably the worst storm in the last 25 years."

The charity has estimated the storm damage at Bodnant will cost thousands.

The trees are now being cut up and removed from the Dell part of the gardens

The falling trees also caused widespread damage to many other plants and shrubs, with most of the destruction concentrated on the Furnace Bank side of the lower part of the gardens called the Dell.

Most of this area opened to the public for the first time five years ago.

"We were shocked with the devastation when we came in on Saturday.

"It's just really, really upsetting and it's going to take time to replace, come up with a plan, but we are never going to get these trees back," added Mr Walker.

It's estimated that between 50 and 70 trees were blown down when Storm Arwen struck, with the fierce winds appearing to have largely been funnelled towards the Furnace Bank area of the garden.

The charity says the cost of removing and restoring the gardens will cost thousands of pounds

The localised nature of the damage means that the gardens have been able to reopen and visitors will be able to see the damage as they make their way through the Dell from the side left largely unaffected.

Acting head gardener Adam Salvin and his team are now beginning the task of clearing away the fallen trees before assessing the scale of the damage done to the various beds affected.

"A lot of things were newly planted when we restored this area about five years ago," said Mr Salvin.

"So we're having to pick through now and see what's left, what's there and what's important - it's going to be a painstaking job."

Adam Salvin said the clearing up the trees will be a painstaking task

Bodnant is famous for its collection of rhododendrons and magnolias. The charity fears that many of these shrubs in the Furnace Bank area will also have been lost as the large trees tell on top them.

"The Dell team have spent years renovating this area and to see this is really upsetting for them," said Adam, who is in charge of a team of 25 gardeners.

It will take several months to clear up the damage caused by Friday's storm

"This week the whole garden team have been down in this area trying to clean up and next week we'll have volunteers down here as well as we make places safe."

The clear up is expected to take several months, the charity added.

John said he and the staff were shocked at the damage caused by the storm