Anglesey sea zoo

After our visits to Yorkshire and Derbyshire we carried on westwards into Wales and to the island of Anglesey. This is the ancestral home of my brother-in-law Yoss and we have been there many times, mainly staying near Rhosneigr. This time we were a little bit along the coast at Trearddur Bay, a great place to stay with good accommodation and a few decent places to eat.

Our first day of excursions was quite local, firstly to the gallery of Oriel Mon to see the Tunnicliffe drawings (free!!). There was also a wild area outside the gallery filled with wild flowers including spotted orchids,

 and then to the Dingle to try and find red squirrels. We have had luck with them there before but this time they were a bit more elusive, possibly due to the fact there was a park-run happening.

This is a very popular area for seeing squirrels and many people feed them from lay-bys on the walkway. We were really lucky though as we bumped into Hue, the squirrel whisperer who is a legend around there and who invited us back to come and really see squirrels, but more of that later!!!

After lunch we decided to visit somewhere we had not been before, the Anglesey sea zoo. This is a small aquarium just over the bridge onto the island. We are not talking San Diego seaworld here but we went with an open mind and weren't disappointed!

It was mostly local sealife in a series of tanks, nothing too exotic but all clearly well looked after and displayed, starting off with some very large lobsters.

Next up were jellyfish, looking like extras from an alien movie. 

The tank they were in constantly rotated them round and round and the shapes were changing all the time. It was vey difficult to take photos as it was really dark in the tanks and with the movement I had to screw the ISO up to silly numbers. 

We were promised an octopus on the website, one of my personal favourite creatures due to their highly underrated intelligence, but this one was just curled up in a corner and looked sad!

After some sea urchins

there was a tank with young rays in it. These are incredible looking creatures, mainly if you see them from the "underneath" as the cling to the glass. They have a very human-looking expression, although this is totally anthropomorphic projection and they are not smiling!

Next door was a pair of cuttlefish who were very active. The larger male was doing impressions of an elephant and both were pulsating with colour and patterns over their skin.

When I was young I always thought of seahorses as being creatures of exotic coral reefs. I didn't realise that they also live along our coasts where they inhabit the plains of sea grass. They are amazing creatures to look at and seem to be very affectionate to one another, winding their tails together.

Finally we had a tank of big fish, sea bass and sea bream, circulating around in the largest tank.

If you are in the area then I would really recommend a visit here. Its only a short stop but very educational about the aquatic life around the Welsh coast. Next door is also the place where they make Anglesey sea salt!

Chatsworth House

In between Yorkshire and Anglesey, geographically as well on the time-line of our holiday, lies the town of Bakewell. We decided to stop here in order to visit the grand house of Chatsworth. There is also a certain link to Beth of Hardwick, whose house we had already visited, as this was also "one of hers"! Either one wouldn't be bad but two seems a bit greedy.

Anyway, after breakfast in our hotel it was only a very short drive to get to Chatsworth. Before the house opened we took a stroll around the grounds and the outside. Fortunately we got there before the hordes arrived.

The building below is just the stable block. Still an imposing edifice but nothing compared to the main event.

Fom whichever angle you looked it was enormous and very well maintained. Chatsworth is one of most popular of our grand houses in the UK so the income generated allows them to keep it in good nick.

Even the bridge across the river was more design than functionality.

After a quick coffee and smiling nicely at the gate-person we were allowed into the house 30 minutes before our allotted time ahead of the next load of tour buses. 

The entrance hall had that classic black-and-white tiling you seen in many stately homes. The rest of the room was totally over the top. Everything including the ceilings were decorated with allegorical paintings and murals.

From here we were taken on a well-guided path around the house, from room to room. Each one had a "host" in it. Not the usual slightly bored person telling you not to touch anything but engaging, informed and cheerful helping you to understand the room. What I found particularly pleasing was their willingness to say when they didn't know certain facts or even admit you may have a fact they didn't know!

The rooms were quite varied. One was filled with what looked like Oriental artefacts, the next was more like a comfy lounge (on a grand scale of course!) where you could imagine your butler bringing you tea and cake.

After a lot of wandering we reached the sculpture gallery, which featured in the film Pride and Predudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen!

I particularly liked this lion, one of a pair, guarding the exit into the shop and cafe. It looks fierce from the side but less so from the front.

After a quick sausage roll for lunch we headed off into the grounds, predictably VERY large.

The first stop was the fountain, at its time the largest in the world, gravity fed but reaching over 90m in height!

The water comes out of what looks like a large fireman's hose and makes some really nice patterns both in the air and when it hits the rocks. I spent some while trying to do arty photos whilst also getting quite wet when the wind blew in the wrong direction...

The view back to the house gave you an idea of what the landscaper was trying to achieve. The place isn't preserved in aspic and a large modern horses head frames the view from the far side of the long pond.

The last part of the "old" estate we visited was the cascade. 

In years gone by this was a series of steps with water flowing down therm. Unfortunately time has not been kind and it was leaking so badly they have stopped the water and put in place a remedial set of works, scheduled to take a couple of years. 

The water will eventually flew out of the dolphins (?) mouthes on the facade of the building at the top and fall down the steps.

It will be spectacular when finished, and a good reason to come back.

We spent nearly 6 hours going round the house and gardens, much longer than we thought we would but we still had areas to see. The kitchen garden, greenhouses and wild areas are all worth time on their own. Although it is so popular the area is so large you don't feel the crowds which makes it a great destination if you are in this part of the country!