Plas Newydd, Isle of Anglesey North Wales

Set amidst breathtakingly beautiful scenery on the Menai Strait, this elegant house was redesigned by James Wyatt in the 18th century. The 1930s restyled interior is famous for its Rex Whistler association, containing his largest painting and exhibition. A military museum contains relics of the 1st Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo. There is a fine spring garden and Australasian arboretum, with an understorey of shrubs and and wild flowers, a summer terrace and massed hydrangeas, which give autumn colour.