Penrhyn Castle, Plas Newydd, Llanfairpwllgwyngyll and Beaumaris

Although it was a nice warm day, it was cloudy with the sunshine a little sporadic. After breakfast we headed off to Penrhyn Castle. Unfortunately, when we arrived, I found I had forgotten my wallet so we had to go back to the van to collect it.

Penrhyn Castle is a country house in Llandygai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, designed to look like a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan. In 1438, Ioan ap Gruffudd was granted a licence to crenellate and he

founded the stone castle and added a tower house. Samuel Wyatt reconstructed the property in the 1780s.

There was an art installation called Harrison's Garden.The installation is made up of over 5000 clocks and creates an imagined landscape in the derelict "unloved" rooms of the keep.

After the traditional Coffee and Crisps, we headed over the Britannia Bridge into 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. On the way back to the car we saw a beautiful red squirrel running along the fence by the adventure playground.

After another Latte and piece of shortbread we headed off in search of Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch station. The place with the longest place name in Britain with 58 letters. The station was actually closed, so after taking a couple of photographs we headed up to Beaumaris.

Beaumaris was originally a Viking settlement known as Porth y Wygyr ("Port of the Vikings"), but the town itself began its development in 1295 when Edward I of England, having conquered Wales, commissioned the building of Beaumaris Castle as part of a chain of fortifications around the North Wales coast (others include Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech).

The castle was built on a marsh and that is where it found its name; the Norman-French builders called it beaux marais which translates as "beautiful marshes".

After a nice ice cream on the quay we headed back to the caravan, calling at Tesco on the way for bread and fuel.