Historic Houses of North Wales

This morning, after breakfast, we cross the Menai Strait into Anglesey for our visit to Plas Newydd. Set amidst breathtakingly beautiful scenery, this elegant house was redesigned by James Wyatt in the 18th century. The 1930s restyled interior is famous for its Rex Whistler association, containing his largest painting, a magnificent trompe l’oeil mural. A military museum contains relics of the 1st Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry (and lost a leg) at the Battle of Waterloo. A woodland walk gives access to a marine walk beside the Menai Strait.

In the afternoon we cross back over Strait and visit Penrhyn Castle, built by Thomas Hopper between 1820 and 1845 for the wealthy Pennant family, who made their fortune from Jamaican sugar and Welsh slate.  The castle is crammed with fascinating items including an outstanding collection of paintings and a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria.  The kitchen and other servants' rooms, including scullery, larders and chef's sitting room, have all been restored to reveal the preparations for the banquet for the Prince of Wales' visit in 1894. The stable block houses an industrial railway museum, a model railway museum and a superb dolls' museum displaying a large collection of 19th & 20th-century dolls. After touring the house we have time the explore the grounds, which include parkland, an extensive exotic tree and shrub collection and a Victorian walled garden.

We return to the hotel in time for dinner.

After breakfast we depart for Bodrhyddan Hall, a Grade I listed building which has been the home of Lord Langford and his family for over 500 years. Set in several acres of stunning formal gardens and reclaimed woodland, the house is one of the few remaining family-owned stately homes in Wales. Bodrhyddan is largely of 17th century design, though famed architect William E. Nesfield oversaw major renovations in the 1870s which results in the façade that we see today. The house contains an extensive historical collection and notable examples include arms & armour, a variety of fine art and portraits and a 3,000 year old Egyptian mummy & Sarcophagus. A guided tour is included here, after which we have time to explore the gardens, including the formal parterre, flowing lawns and the extensive pleasance.

This afternoon we make our way to the walled market town of Conwy to visit Aberconwy House, one of the oldest datable medieval merchant houses in Wales. We will see furnished rooms and enjoy an audio-visual presentation which shows the daily life from different periods in its history.

After our visit there will be some free time in Conwy, an opportunity perhaps to walk the famous Conwy Suspension Bridge and visit the Toll House and garden, where you will discover how a husband and wife team kept the Thomas Telford’s bridge open every day of the year and during their time as keepers created a vegetable garden and sold any surplus food to people crossing the bridge (entrance to the Toll House is included with Aberconwy).

We return to our hotel where dinner will be served in the evening.

Sadly our time in Wales has come to an end and following breakfast this morning, we will check-out of our hotel and depart for our final visit, Plas Teg, one of the most important Jacobean houses in Wales. Sir John Trevor built Plas Teg in about 1610 in the Jacobean style, utilising the Renaissance concept of symmetry, of proportion and elegance. The house is built upon a cross-hall plan, with the great chamber above and a cross axial gallery to the second floor, which was inspired by Serlio. Due to this, the house was divided into public and service halves on either side of the main hall. The public section included the principal staircase, withdrawing room, parlour, great chamber and study, while the service section included the servant quarters, kitchens, offices, a secondary staircase and a buttery in the north tower. This original design was altered during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Cornelia Bayley purchased Plas Teg in 1986 and has lovingly restored the house back to its former glory. A private guided tour is included here, during which we will also learn about some of the paranormal activity that has been observed here…

We then return to our original departure points, where arrival is expected early in the evening.