Overview
If you're a National Trust or Royal Oak member, North Wales holds some of the best of what your card gets you into. It covers the entry; you only pay for the touring.
Penrhyn Castle is the showpiece, a Norman fantasy built in the 1820s on slate and Caribbean sugar money. Plas Newydd sits on the Menai Strait with Rex Whistler's great mural in its dining room, and Bodnant spreads eighty acres of terraces towards the Conwy.
Between the houses: the Great Orme, Beddgelert and Caernarfon, not the Trust's but worth the stop. For the full Trust experience, stay at Bodysgallen Hall above Llandudno, the Trust's own hotel.
- Duration
- 2 days
- Group size
- Up to 7 guests
- Vehicle
- Mercedes V-Class
Includes
- Expert bilingual local guide
- Travel in a Mercedes V-Class
- Daily pick-ups & drop offs
- Fully customisable
Excludes
- Flights, transfers and accommodation
- Food and drink
- Entry fees to attractions
- Houses & gardens
- Heritage & culture
- Castles
Itinerary
Day 1 Four Trust houses and gardens
Start in the gardens at Bodysgallen, then Penrhyn's slate-built rooms near Bangor and Plas Newydd's lawns running down to the Menai Strait. Bodnant's terraces are at their best in May and June, when the laburnum arch is in flower. Round it off with the view from the Great Orme, Beddgelert in its valley, and Edward I's fortress at Caernarfon.
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Country house hotel near Llandudno with 200 acres of gardens
A Grade I listed 17th-century house two miles south of Llandudno, now a country house hotel owned by the National Trust, in 200 acres of parkland with views of Snowdonia and Conwy Castle. The gardens include a rare 17th-century box parterre filled with scented herbs, a walled rose garden and several follies. -
Vast Victorian fantasy castle of slate and sugar wealth, near Bangor
Penrhyn Castle as we see it today was built near Bangor between 1822 and 1837 by Thomas Hopper, who created a fantasy Norman castle around a medieval fortified house, glimpses of which can still be seen. His client, George Dawkins Pennant, had inherited a fortune made from sugar in the Caribbean and slate from Snowdonia. The interiors are strikingly rich, with a one-ton slate bed made for Queen Victoria, and the Victorian kitchens below stairs. The stable block holds a railway museum of the quarry's industrial locomotives, and the grounds run to 45 acres of parkland, walled garden and exotic trees. National Trust. -
Marquess of Anglesey's mansion and gardens on the Menai Strait
The Marquess of Anglesey's house on the Menai Strait: a 1470s house rebuilt in the 1790s by James Wyatt and restyled in the 1930s, when Rex Whistler painted the 58-foot mural in the dining room, his largest work, an imagined harbour with Snowdonia beyond. Gardens and woodland walks along the strait, and the National Trust since 1976. -
Eighty acres of terraced gardens with views to the Snowdonia range
Eighty acres above the River Conwy, sloping west with Snowdonia across the valley. Formal Italianate terraces and a rose garden run down into the Dell, a wooded valley of streams and glades planted with seeds and cuttings brought back by plant-hunting expeditions more than a century ago. Something is at its best in every season: daffodils and magnolias in spring, the laburnum arch in late May, summer meadows, autumn colour and frost on the terraces in winter. There are record-breaking trees among the two-hundred-year-old ones. -
Limestone headland above Llandudno with a Bronze Age copper mine
A limestone headland above Llandudno with a Bronze Age copper mine, one of the most important prehistoric mines in the world, a Victorian tramway and a cable car to the summit. The headland has plants found nowhere else on earth; in 2015 the National Trust bought Parc Farm on top and let it for £1 a year to a shepherd whose sheep graze it for the wildflowers. -
Often called the prettiest village in Wales, and famed for ice cream
Often called the prettiest village in Wales, where the Glaslyn meets the Colwyn under the mountains. The name means Gelert's grave, and the story of the prince who killed his faithful hound by mistake is told at the grave a short walk downstream. Parts of the village date from the 12th century; it grew on copper mining in the 18th and 19th. Famous for its ice cream, and for the National Trust's Tŷ Isaf shop in a late 17th-century house in the centre. -
Working quarry workshops and machinery telling the slate story
(Closed for redevelopment until summer 2027.) The National Slate Museum occupies the Victorian workshops of the Dinorwig quarry, under Elidir mountain in Llanberis, kept as though the quarrymen and engineers had just put down their tools and gone home: a foundry, a forge, the joiners' shop and the great water wheel that drove them all. Craftsmen split slate by hand in demonstrations through the day, and a row of quarrymen's cottages moved here from Blaenau Ffestiniog shows how the families lived. -
Edward I's mightiest fortress, guarding the Menai Strait since 1283
Edward I's fortress palace at the mouth of the Seiont, begun in 1283, its banded masonry and polygonal towers modelled on the walls of Constantinople. The first English Prince of Wales was born here in 1284, and the investiture of Prince Charles took place here in 1969. A World Heritage Site with its walled town, and one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe.
What guests say
As soon as John picked up our group of five up in Crewe, I knew we were in for a wonderful adventure. John was friendly, kind, professional and knowledgeable. Our tour was a custom tour and we had a great mix of history, castles, iconic landmarks and scenery. As a bonus, we learned a bit of Welsh. ‘diolch yn fair iawn’
It was such an amazing day trip that John guided. He shared so much history and information of his native land with passion and care that made our first time in the beautiful northern wales very special. Thank you, John!
Frequently asked questions
- How many of the properties can we visit?
It depends on the days you can give it. From a base such as Bodysgallen Hall, most of the properties listed fit into two days of touring.
- Are there extra costs while touring?
Your National Trust or Royal Oak membership covers entry to the Trust properties. Caernarfon Castle, if included, charges admission, and food and drink are paid on the day.
- We are not National Trust or Royal Oak members. Can we still book?
Yes. It may be worth joining before you travel, though, since membership usually costs less than paying each admission separately.
- Can we change the itinerary?
Yes. Every tour we run is customised, so treat this itinerary as a starting point. Tell us what interests you and we will build the days around it.
- What time do we start and finish?
Usually around 9am to 5pm, but we are flexible. What matters most is that you have a good time, so if starting earlier or finishing later makes for a better day, that is what we will do.
- How many of us can come?
Up to 7 guests, travelling together in our Mercedes V-Class. For a party of 8 or more, get in touch and we will make special arrangements.
- Can children come?
Children over 12 years old are welcome. Not every tour suits children, so tell us their ages when you get in touch and we will plan the day around them. We are not able to accommodate infants and babies.
- Can this tour be combined with other tours, or made longer or shorter?
Yes. A day tour can be built into a multi-day tour, and a multi-day tour can be shortened, extended or joined to another. Tell us how many days you have and we will plan around them.
- Is food included?
No. As we tour we will suggest eating places that our guests have enjoyed.
- What should we wear and bring?
Sensible footwear for some light walking, and a rain jacket, just in case.
- How much walking is involved?
Some, and none of it strenuous: the walk from the car to a castle gate or a viewpoint. If walking is a concern, tell us and we will plan the stops accordingly.
- Where should we stay?
Somewhere central, so that touring time is not spent driving to the start. Our accommodation advice lists places our guests have used, and we are happy to suggest a base for your tour.
