Your first day ashore is filled with a variety of sights – each spectacular. First visit Bodnant Garden, situated above the River Conwy with stunning views across Snowdonia. Begun in 1875, Bodnant Garden features huge Italianate terraces and formal lawns on its upper level, with a wooded valley, stream and wild garden below. Be sure to see the laburnum arch – a 55-yard tunnel of golden blooms. Next embark on a scenic drive through magnificent Snowdonia National Park, passing through the lovely Betws-y-Coed, and taking in the stunning Llanberis Pass before arriving at your lunch destination in Caernarfon at the atmospheric Celtic Royal Hotel.
Alternatively, guests can choose instead to join a private tour of Plas Newydd, an elegant 18th-century house with an interesting mix of classical and Gothic styles. During your exclusive ‘out of hours’ tour learn that the interior was restyled in the 1930s, and that the house is famous for its association with Rex Whistler, whose largest painting is here. The home also contains a military museum, as the first Marquess of Anglesey commanded the Cavalry in the battle of Waterloo.
Following some free time to wander in the splendid gardens, your outing continues with a delicious lunch at Seiont Manor. Once a working farmstead, here you will be entertained by a cultural performance of traditional Welsh music. Guests should note that this tour option will have limited availability due to space restrictions.
Following lunch, all guests can step inside the once impregnable Caernarfon Castle to explore its magnificent ruins with our guide. Dating back to 1283, Caernarfon Castle is said to have been designed to echo the walls of Constantinople, the imperial power of Rome and the dream-castle, ‘the fairest that ever man saw’, of Welsh myth and legend. It was here that the heir to the British thrown, Prince Charles, was crowned Prince of Wales in 1969. Following your visit to the Castle, return to Holyhead harbor.