The incredible legacy of a generous woman

I can’t help but wonder what Fanny Talbot would make of it all. Little would she have known back then, of course, but it was her donation of land in 1895 that sparked the start of a juggernaut. We’re talking about the National Trust, Europe’s leading conservation charity. Its symbol — a sprig of oak leaves and acorns — will be familiar to anyone who has travelled around the UK and perhaps visited one of the stately homes under the charity’s care. So who was Fanny Talbot, and what is her connection with the National Trust? Well, she was born in 1824 in Somerset, south-west England, later moving to the Welsh seaside town of Barmouth, where she devoted herself to local philanthropic work after the death of her husband in 1873. A keen chess player, Fanny lived on the gorse-covered slopes of Dinas Oleu, a hill with splendid views over Barmouth, whose sandy beaches sprawl where the estuary of the River Mawddach meets Cardigan Bay, an inlet of the Irish Sea. Happy to share her good fortune, and enviable setting, Fanny donated land and 12 cottages in the town to her friend John Ruskin, the esteemed London-born art critic, historian and all-round polymath. Ruskin had founded the Guild of St George, a charity for arts, crafts and the rural economy that was designed to improve the lot of working people. Among those to move into the Barmouth cottages was Auguste Guyard, who had fled France with his daughter after the siege of Paris during the 1871 Franco-Prussian war. Known here simply as “The Frenchman”, Guyard became a familiar sight on the hillside, carving terraces to grow herbs, vegetables and medicinal plants which he would share with poor locals. His final wish was to be buried up here and his gravestone carries his own epitaph, which has been translated from French into Welsh and English: “Here lodged a sower who, to his grave, sowed the seeds, of truth, of right, of beauty, with obsession. In a thousand struggles, with pen and body, such labours are not rewarded, in this world.” Dubbed “Frenchman’s Grave”, it’s one of the potential stops on a 2km circular walking route from Barmouth’s quaint old town. You’ll be pacing through the 1.8ha of land that Fanny donated to another fledgling charity, the National Trust, founded in 1895 by her friends Octavia Hill and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley. Along with a colleague, Robert Hunter, these social activists were eager to protect Britain’s natural and historic treasures, especially with the rapid industrialisation that was threatening to devour the nation’s heritage and landscapes. In Fanny’s gift letter, she wrote: “I have long wanted to secure for the public for ever the enjoyment of Dinas Oleu, but wish to put it to the custody of some society that will never vulgarise it, or prevent wild nature from having its way . . . and it appears to me that your association has been born in the nick of time.” Further bequeathals followed for the National Trust, including a raft of country estates, and the charity now has more than 500 historic places, gardens and nature reserves in its portfolio. It also manages over 1250km of coastline and 250,000ha of farmland in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scotland has its own National Trust, founded in 1931). A stone seat marking the centenary of Fanny Talbot’s donation is another notable sight on Dinas Oleu, which, translated from Welsh, means the “Fortress of Light”, with the land containing fragments of an Iron Age enclosure. Walking the loop, you’ll also see the remaining Ruskin cottages, which were later sold to the local council, and Ty’n-y-Ffynnon (House of the Spring), where Fanny lived until her death in 1917. That’s now available as a holiday rental — just one possible base for savouring this gorgeous region, where the mountains of Snowdonia roll down to a coast peppered with castles (and sandcastles in the warmer months). Barmouth is a popular spot in the northern summer for its beach donkey rides and amusements, and there’s a fair scattering of fish and chip shops, cosy cafes and tearooms here. But, calling in on our autumnal north Wales road trip, we’re drawn towards a neat new gastropub housed in one of the charming stone buildings on the High Street. Its name? The Fanny Talbot. A portrait of the local heroine adorns the wall by the bar, which is clad in decorative glossy tiling. In good weather, you may fancy a table on the pub’s front terrace, which faces a Victorian chapel across the street. But the booths of the rear dining room are best for this damp day and we settle in for probably the best lunch of our trip. It’s thanks to the “informal fine dining” of 20-something head chef Owen Vaughan, who was a finalist on the British MasterChef TV cooking show. Seasonal Welsh ingredients are at the forefront of his menus and you can enjoy three courses for £35 ($69). My confit pork belly with apple ketchup and cannellini beans is highly satisfying, though the toasted mackerel with miso mayonnaise and roast lamb rump with spiced chickpeas also tempt. The pub serves dinner — including six-course tasting menus — and they have seven ensuite rooms with kitchenettes, plus two three-bedroom apartments, if you’d like to stick around. We wouldn’t mind, but we must press on as our itinerary will now see us crossing the stunning Mawddach estuary towards the peaks of southern Snowdonia. Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Wales and Visit Britain. They have not influenced or read this story before publication. fact file + To book a table or accommodation at The Fanny Talbot in Barmouth, see thefannytalbotgastropub.co.uk + To seek out National Trust places on your UK trip, see nationaltrust.org.uk + For more information on visiting Wales and Britain, see visitwales.com and visitbritain.com