Plas Newydd House & Garden, August 2024

Somewhere new on our National Trust radar – We visited Plas Newydd House & Gardens in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey. We were supposed to visit a few weeks prior on a hot, sunny day when we were at the nearby Newborough Beach – which is a really nice beach and nature walk – but time got away from us, so we made the trip along the North Wales coast to Anglesey again.

Plas Newydd is a stunning Country House and Gardens set on a bank overlooking the Menai Strait with views across Snowdonia. It’s visible along the water’s edge as you cross the bridge onto Anglesey. It was a great place to visit and was enjoying it’s ‘Summer of Fun’ event, so there was plenty for the kids to see and do.

Prices for Plas Newydd are from £12 for an adult and £6 per child and family tickets from £18-£30. We have our National Trust passes, which are great value if you’re ever planning on multiple trips to National Trust properties, and as usual, parking is free.

We arrived on a sunny Saturday morning, a little later than expected having been stuck in traffic on the A55. The first area you reach on arrival at Plas Newydd is the Gift Shop/Reception, Café and Toilets, so we freshened up, scanned our passes and headed in.

The kids wanted to do some playing having been cooped up in the car for over an hour, so we headed right from reception towards the woodland path to find the adventure playground. This area was brilliant. After a lovely walk through the trees, we came across the play area. There were some picnic benches alongside a small climbing frame and slide for the little kids, and a much bigger play ‘castle’ for the more adventurous.

Further down the path the area is littered with assault course type play frames, swings, climbing frames, stepping logs, balance beams, chain bridges and more. A real ‘adventure’ pay area under a woodland canopy. Further along, there was a table for a teddy bears picnic and woodland den, but our favourite bit was the music area. All made from branches and wooden boxes, they had drums, a glockenspiel and large wooden chimes hanging from a frame. Kids love any excuse to make a noise!

Out of the forest and we landed in a large, open lawn, looking down over Plas Newydd and the Menai Strait. What an amazing view. It was also here that the families were out enjoying the ‘summer of fun’ event, but we thought we’d check out the house and views first.

Our first stop was the courtyard area to the rear of Plas Newydd house to pick up some fancy Ice creams from the little café at the back. Loaded with sugary goodness, we walked around to the front of the house to take some pictures of the cannons along the wall, the incredible views of Snowdonia and the Menai Strait, where there were boats on the water and the kids had spotted jellyfish. Following the wall to the right leads you to the Harbour, which was once home to HMS Conway.

We headed back up to the house which does look stunning on a sunny day in this location by the water. It photographs well!

We headed inside. A high-ceilinged entrance hall greeted us with paintings and portraits all around, before leading us into a large room. In here there was a projector displaying a colourful silhouette of a person dancing. This room was used for entertaining guests and the display was to show some of the dances they may have performed. There was also a small fancy dress area if the kids wanted to try on a gown and join in with the dance. I don’t think Evan was keen, though they did both dress in some crazy outfits at Chirk Castle Summer of Fun a few weeks prior.

The staircase, brimming with artwork, lead us up to the balcony overlooking the entrance, where large arch-topped wooden doors opened onto corridors to the living rooms and bedrooms.

We passed through The Octagon, a family games room, a study with tables littered with books, a cinema room and music room with portraits, paintings and murals, seats around the fireplace and a large piano.

The next room was fun, though I’m not sure the kids agreed. The gentleman here spent some time telling us about the room. It was a long, empty room aside from a 17.5 metre mural painted by Rex Wheeler which depicted a fantasy view of the Menai Strait outside, with rocks and mountains, towers and castles which changed it’s look depending on where in the room you were standing. We spent a good 10-15 minutes in here while the kids were expertly guided back and forth for the best places to stand and what was in the picture.

After visiting the living spaces and bedrooms, we headed back down a small spiral staircase and found our way into the Military Museum. A small museum area with several cabinets filled with military uniforms and robes, weapons and medals, along with a giant painting of the Battle of Waterloo.

After exiting the house, we walked back up the bank to explore the gardens. Amongst the landscaping there is a really cool treehouse. Needless to say, the kids wanted to go inside, and so did I. Luckily, it has a staircase to enter, so we could all go in without scrambling up branches. It’s only a small treehouse with a little benches inside, but from outside, the way it has been put together makes it look like a fairytale house up in the trees.

With the Summer of Play event in full swing, we stopped on the lawn overlooking the house to see what was on offer. There was a collection of games for anyone to pick up and join in with. Several tennis nets, with rackets and balls, a cricket set, lawn darts, frisbees and more. They were mainly just cheap kid’s garden games you can buy from a toy shop, but anything like this will entertain the little ones for a while. Makes it a much more fun day out for them.

Across the lawn, past the house, we made our way to the Stable block – which is a private area, but you can still see the outside. Opposite this, is a large patch of grass, home to the Chambered Tombs, a set of Neolithic rocks, stacked up with a capstone on top to make a hollow tomb. The kids loved these. It was like they had their own mini-Stonehenge.

Our last stop was the tiered gardens which are between the stable building and Plas Newydd house. These tiered areas had lots of neatly landscaped flowerbeds, statues, small ponds, waterfalls and water features, plus amazing views of the house and Menai Strait. Each level had its own personality and steps and paths that lead back down to the wall.

There were a few other areas we didn’t get to explore on this trip – like the Rhododendron Garden. Someone’s little legs were tired and couldn’t possibly take another step, let alone the kilometre walk to the Rhododendron garden. I bet he’d walk if there was chocolate involved!

We headed back up to the entrance and stopped at the café for some drinks. It’s a nice café but closed quite early. They had some nice sounding items on the menu, so we’ll have to go a bit earlier next time. After that, back to the gift shop for a quick look around. It was similar to other National Trust shops, small kids’ toys and games, things for the garden, locally produced jams and sauces, souvenirs. We had to buy a magnet of course, and National Trust properties usually have a themed ale for the property. And they did.

A lovely morning out!