Plas Newydd (National Trust)
We decided to visit a National Trust site Plas Newydd on Anglesey.
Plas Newydd is a country house set in gardens, parkland and surrounding woodland on the north bank of the Menai Strait, in Llanddaniel Fab, near Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey, Wales.
The current building has its origins in 1470, and evolved over the centuries to become one of Anglesey’s principal residences.
Owned successively by Griffiths, Baylys and Pagets, it became the country seat of the Marquesses of Anglesey, and the core of a large agricultural estate.
The house and grounds, with views over the strait and Snowdonia, are open to the public, having been owned by the National Trust since 1976.
We walked into the grounds bypassing the house and I took a couple of shots of the amazing trees.
There were some amazing flowers around the grounds, especially Hydrangea and Dahlia.
Walking around the garden, I tried to get some arty shots.
The draw of this place for Kathryn was the possibility of seeing one or more red squirrels, with the site claiming there are over a hundred on site.
There were no squirrels in sight, probably because any that are here most likely come out to play in the early morning.
As we walked down to the Menai Strait, there were some pleasing scenes, especially looking up towards the Menai bridge.
There were quite a few jellyfish visible in the seaweed.
As we made our way back, we stumbled into a stunning garden.
I quite liked the colour contrast in this shot of daisies.
As we headed back to the car park, walking briskly as the grounds were closing, I wanted to grab a shot of these fabulous trees.
Dinas Dinlle
Despite it being late in the afternoon / early evening, we decided to call in at another location on our list: Dinas Dinlle.
Dinas Dinlle has a large sand and pebble beach with vast areas of sand from mid-tide level.
The foreshore consists of natural pebble banks. The popular beach offers views towards the Llŷn Peninsula (Penrhyn Llŷn) and towards Ynys Llanddwyn (Llanddwyn Island) on Anglesey.
The area is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). According to the 2011 Census, 77.9% of the population were Welsh speakers.
As it was getting late, I walked at pace over to the beach, set up and took the shot below.
Using the rocks as a leading line, it’s turned out to be a decent image.
I did one more shot looking to the right of this scene but couldn’t match it so I was done.
Some days, you’ve had enough photography and call time on it. This was the moment of this day out.
Overall, I was very pleased with the images from this day out and two locations.
We headed back to our cottage where Welsh ale, a hearty supper and crap Wi-Fi would await.
Onwards and upwards…