Tales of the Urban Explorer: Bontddu Hall
Should we stay or should we go?
The question was up for debate. 'Bontddu Hall' was far away, farther away than we had ever travelled. From what we could see, it looked impressive inside, half-burnt and half-saved.
If only we could get inside the ‘saved’ part, then it might be worthwhile.
'Bontddu Hall' suffered from a major fire in 2020, in which one person died. It has remained closed since then.
It has been stated that many famous celebrities have stayed at 'Bontddu Hall' including Winston Churchill, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, and Neville Chamberlain.
This leg of our Wales trip would take us deep into the mid-section of this mostly rural country and would touch on the west coast.
It was a little out of the way, but quite close to a time capsule that @grindle had provided to me. I figured it was worth a punt.
“There it is”.
I had spotted what looked like a burnt wreck from the roadside. It was on the edge of a town and there was some parking available for once.
After doing some investigation of various GoonTuber videos, I figured there was a route from the roadside via a likely overgrown path.
…and there it was, the way up avoiding the front access entrance-way…
Trying not to laugh at the ridiculously ineffective green wiring, we simply walked around it and followed an overgrown pathway that ascended to the old hall.
It was like walking through some Alice-in-Wonderland type garden and meandered upward like a snake before levelling off and showing a glimpse of the property.
“What’s that fucking noise?”
We could both hear a tinny whirring sound and cautiously snuck forward anxious to pin down the source of this unwanted noise.
“Why is there a bloody Gardner mowing the lawn”, I whispered to @anidiotexplores in exasperation.
We had travelled all this way only to meet some bumpkin weed-smoking twat likely getting stoned on the job who would obstruct our visit.
Could we bribe him with extra weed to fuck off for a bit while we look around? He looked serious, not-so-young, and professional; maybe not.
Backtracking past the lover’s seat we came upon an outdoor spiral staircase and had to climb it.
I could see Winston Churchill parked in one of those metal chairs and admiring the view.
Tea and toast, or more likely crumpets. The scene was so.. English, except this is Wales.
Better still, we could simply walk through the huge holes in what were once enormous windows.
It looked like another burnt-out derp, the fire must have hit this part of 'Bontddu Hall' with some severe wrath.
To the left was GardenerMan somewhere. We dared not get any closer and was sure he had not spotted us.
A little gaudy carpet, but little else in this area.
Walk through this passage and things change dramatically. The fire doors must have been top-notch.
Some rooms had suffered from extreme fire damage, but a few items had survived. I'm willing to wager that old Microwave still works. I should have plugged it in and spun it up.
It doesn’t help when your roof caves in. I do love the old pillar with its intricate markings. The rusty springs are what remains of the guest beds from the upper floor.
It was clear that the owners of 'Bontddu Hall' had been sealing doors, and windows only for them to be ripped off. The TourBus had already come, and gone and was continuing to stream new visitors.
To our dismay, many areas were boarded up and we could only drool through windows at the non-burnt out areas that were out of reach.
That’s some lovely wood-paneling. It was probably there during the war years when Mr. Bulldog himself stayed.
If you need to jump through hatchways to get farther in, then that’s what you do.
Could we have managed more if that fucking GardenerMan had not been here? That side of 'Bontddu Hall' was off-limits for now. Heading for the outside areas, we skirted around the edges of ‘Bontddu Hall’ looking for more ways in.
Fresh boards everywhere. It was not going to be our lucky day.
We poked our heads around a corner and noticed what we guessed to be GardenerMan’s car.
Was it occupied or empty? There was little to lose by marching past it, and as we guessed it was empty.
The fencing was new, but as usual, I found a breach and managed to get closer. Everything was sealed tight.
My efforts were proving fruitless and we had to concede defeat. The burnt-out areas had devastated 'Bontddu Hall' but much of it was salvageable.
The fact that GardenerMan existed and was doing his stuff tells me there are renovation plans.
We left sulking a little and thought about the next one which was another lengthy drive.
'Kartmans' it was was named. It sounded German and hopefully would be full of old wartime gasmasks, a few hopefully unused packs of ‘Blondex', rotting ration books and copious vintage porn.
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That is a really cool path heading up to the house. Is that bamboo along the path on the edge there? This looks like it was a really cool place at one time. Hopefully they can restore it really nice and get people in and out again.
It was the old way out for guests wanting to cut out the main entrance. It proved handy for us. Lovely piece of history this one, it may already be off the UX radar.
Hopefully they will repair this hotel, and that they will open it again for the visitors. This building is a real art. It would be a shame to leave it to collapse. Without repair and maintenance, soon it would collapse.
Inside proper there may have been a lot more to see. I was more than a little pissed off about our bad timing that day.
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I think this one after the renovation will be a beauty. Its like a castle, amazing garden, ... not the usual s***hole 😁
At least we know the grass is going be short!
It is interesting to read that they (who are they by the way) still pay a gardener to clean the surroundings... Thanks for the nice pictures. I had the impression to be there with you ;)
If only they had come to trim the grass the day after! Was annoying... 😫
Indeed. This may have however added some level of excitement (probably 'stress' may be a better word), at least I guess ;)
Wow, it's look like a palace in a fairy tale Beauty and the beast.
Though I don't know any about this hall, but from the pictures, someone would know it was a very grand place to be, even being burnt and wrecked, there's still some beauty to it.
another "beyond repair" property, another insurance scam for a failing business?
One would have thought that the umbexers would have ripped all the boards off, maybe Alan Titchmarsh was a regular repair man
You can see one wall is collapsed. Insurance job, could be? I wonder how many are.. just that.
yes cynical but often true
The Bontddu hall looks magical too me,like a small castle. Few more years if isn't restored then maybe it can passed as setting in fairtytale movies?😁.
And I was trying to spot the old microwave😂.
I didn't notice it until today and the wall socket next to it. Plugging it in.. would likely be fruitless but you never know.
Amazing photos as usual.. Why some houses like that are empty? Or do they have owners? A pretty one though. Just need some renovations and it'll be all right..
Well in this case, the fire is the reason. Half of it it missing.
It still looks good from the outside
That'll be pricey to restore. Is it listed? A cheaper option would be to knock down the damaged parts.
It may well be Grade listed, I didn't check. It's old enough to tick that box.
First and foremost your photograph is amazing 😍 and you said there was a death in 'Bontddu Hall' how did it happen i will love to know also you mentioned some names of these Winston Churchill, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, and Neville Chamberlain. Wow i was amazed when you said they stayed there i wish i would stay there too someday.
The details on the death were not made clear. Hopefully not 'burnt alive'
Wow.. that's weird!!
Great place this one.. imagine what it was like before the fire and even many years ago.. I bet she was so grand. The architecture is just stunning.. a great read and photos 😊
Thanks, it was miles away and we only managed part of it. Talk about a mammoth trip. It was over 12 hours of exploring that day and it was going dark as we got to the last one, 'Ernie's Place', a decent capsule!
Wow, it is like a blumming castle. Shame for the boarded up areas and Gardener man.
That pillar/column was awesome in its lonely splendour :O)
There wasn't a lot we saw that was impressive. Much of it was off-limits.., stupid Gardner's!
A lot of it must have been in reasonable nick!
That is a super cool find. It's a bloody castle! That terrace looks like it was something back in its glory days. The wooden doors and the wood paneling look really incredible as well.
Looks a little like a castle. It would have been nice to have seen more.
Such a great place that just burnt down. It's enticing and mesmering now that it was half-burnt, how much more when it wasn't. For sure, it was once a lovely classic hall.
'Bontddu Hall was an extraordinary mansion! fifteen years ago, it was a hotel. I can't even imagine living in a place like that. What a grand piece of architecture. I found that that the fire rescue had pulled a woman from the burning building who later died. It was the owner's wife, sadly. It was put up for sale, which is probably why it is being kept.
They want 1.26 million
I got a look at some of the inside pictures and it is perfectly preserved, surprisingly after seeing the side that was blazing. What a beautiful setting on this piece. As bad as the inside was, the shots you took still allowed me to see how beautiful it once was!
It was a strange one. One side was totally wrecked, even the wall was gone.., some fire that was. The majority of it is fine and saved. Those fire trucks must have been efficient on the day of the burning.
Beautiful structures but doesn't look like it was built in the last century.
For the fire outbreak, glad it didn't destroy the whole building.
This is actully so cool!!! I love little adventures and mystery and being transported to a different time. What's left of the artwork, details and architecture really takes you back. Worth the trip I bet!
It's sad that a place like that one which says a lot of stories even just from the outside or with the road to it, it wasn't maintained and it ended up in ruins. I'm sure there could be seen a lot of things on the inside if it wouldn't be abandoned
Many places are struggling, though I doubt this was an insurance job, unless the owner wanted his wife to die in flames.., -shudder-
What a pretty building - a shame to see another beauty consumed by fire - and I hope you are right. It would be great to see it renovated.
Esta genial ese sitio, debió ser mucho mas impresionante años atrás, las fotos están geniales XD, saludos
Funny because I got the image of you sulking😂😂, you guys did great finding a route in, the Gardenerman did mess things up. I can not believe Churchill was once there!! I could immerse myself in the image of him taking tea😁😁.
The place is so breathtaking. I felt like I am being toured in a fairyland. I am like in a Disney world with a twist. You are amazing my friend. Have a nice time and have safe travels.