The September 21 Grand tour of mid and north Wales in a motorhome Day 20

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The morning has not started well. I am in agony and so we phone 111. My tooth and jaw are throbbing, I have a temperature, my nose tingles, my ear aches and my eye is streaming. I have acquired an infection and it is probably related to my poorly tooth.

Within forty minutes of phoning 111, a dentist phones me, discusses the situation, emails a prescription to Bangor Tesco’s and gives me instructions on how to use saline mouth rinses.

So, back to Tesco’s we trek.

After collecting the prescription, we stop off at Plas Newydd (Plas Newydd means ‘New Mansion’). A national trust place on the banks of the Menai Straits, with a Humphrey Repton designed garden and extensive woodlands, we stroll around the house, admiring the Rex Whistler frieze. The house is the ancestral home of the Marquis of Anglesey and its history stretches back over 5000 years to a Neolithic burial chamber nearby. A house has stood on the same spot since the early C16th. And with stunning, no, superb, views across the straits to Snowdonia, we can see why.

It was originally a Tudor house which has seen several changes, from those instigated by the architect James Wyatt in 1793 – 9 to the modernisation during the 1930’s and the upgrading of pipes and wires in 2019. With a military museum exhibiting items and pictures of the 1st Marquess and his part in the Battle of Waterloo; the mural painted by artist Rex Whistler (along with a small collection of his unfinished works); the late 1700’s pastoral landscapes painted by the Flemish artist, Balthasar Paul Ommeganck; and finally, the 7th Marquess’s study, the Gothick Hall and music room, there is plenty to see and admire.

Much of what is seen in this trompe de L’oeil (French for ‘deceive the eye) mural is imaginary but includes many personal family references, or images of architecture Rex had visited. Look out for the round tower at Windsor.

The mural is unfinished. Rex had always intended returning to Plas Newydd to complete his masterpiece. Unfinished is the central Mediterranean tower and the clouds above. Look out for the cigarette left smoking in the corner. It symbolises Rex’s intentions of returning after the Second World War to pick up exactly where he left off. 

Afterwards we stroll the woodland trails trying to find the fabled red squirrels. The views across the straits and the woodland walks are stunning and there are tantalising glimpses of the elusive furry critters; but they are fleeting glimpses!

Maggie, however, is a squirrel whisperer. She adopted a family of six grey squirrels at home and feeds them with sunflower seeds every other day. She knew where to go to see the squirrels. A feeding station! We are thrilled to spot a red squirrel at a feeding station just as we leave the Plas Newydd shop area.  Great end to an ‘interesting’ day!

Sorry it’s a little blurry – snatched on my smartphone at extreme zoom!

More information about Plas Newydd can be found at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/plas-newydd-country-house-and-gardens/features/the-house-at-plas-newydd

Expenditure: two nights at Awelfryn Campsite £48