I was asked by Juliana one of our experienced Britain guides this week if I knew anything about a particular castle, as she knew it was in the same area of North Wales that I was born and bred. The castle was Penrhyn Castle and she was looking to get a few pictures and details onto our website.

It’s strange how buildings can shape one’s life but my early years were totally dominated by this castle (and the family that lived there). You see, they were the only landowners in our corner of the world – Llandegai near Bangor in North Wales. The Pennant family was also the owner of the slate quarry in Bethesda, that had supplied the world with roof slate since the 18^th century. They had therefore been, for a few centuries, the largest employers in the area where farming and quarrying were the main occupations. They were also owners of vast sugar plantations in Jamaica, a fact the family was never keen to publicise – for understandable reasons.