Cottage featured in Hollywood film to help save Welsh red squirrels

A former gamekeeper’s cottage which featured in a Hollywood movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis will be used to help maintain Wales’ red squirrel population.

The semi-derelict stone building at Pentraeth, Ynys Môn, which is surrounded by ancient woodland, was used to film scenes in the 2025 motion picture ‘Anemone.’

Its prominent cast also included actors Sean Bean and Samantha Morton.

Directed by Daniel’s son, Ronan Day-Lewis, the film explored the emotional ties between brothers, fathers, and sons.

A number of locations on the island and in other parts of north Wales were used and filming also took place at the island’s Aria Studios.

Isle of Anglesey County Council confirmed that a full planning application to convert the property at Clyddyn has been approved. The application was been made by Dr Craig Shuttleworth.

The existing site covers 0.52 acres and was purchased by the Red Squirrels Trust Wales in 2008/09. The area was historically used for red squirrel and wildlife purposes.

The application was to covert the former cottage into a storage facility and erection of a storage building together with the conversion of the existing pig sty into a bat roost and retention of hard standing and pathway.

It is understood the old stone cottage was a gamekeeper’s cottage and last saw occupation in the 1970s.

Planning details say the site will be used for the storage of equipment and documents associated with the strategic delivery of red squirrel and pine marten conservation projects across north-west Wales.

It would “provide secure, biological record storage, equipment storage and occasional working space for the maintenance of conservation equipment for red squirrel and pine marten conservation projects across north west Wales”.

The planning documents describe how the red squirrel conservation project started on Ynys Môn 30 years ago.

At that time “the island’s 40 or so red squirrels were just surviving, and were then on the brink of extinction,” it said.

“Historically this last remnant population was in this local forest area. Today the woodlands are the key stronghold of the native red squirrel in Wales.”

The site is owned and operated by Dr Shuttleworth who, the planning documents say, has worked on red squirrel conservation since 1993.

The site is considered “a significant resource” in the furtherance of not only red squirrel conservation but also “ecological objectives”.

The details note that red squirrels are a “priority species” in Wales and face “ongoing threats from habitat fragmentation, competition with invasive grey squirrels and disease, particularly the squirrel pox vius”.

It added: “The site is in a central location to control incursions by grey squirrels; which generally occur in the Llansadwrn to Beaumaris areas.

“The site’s central location would also assist in future vaccination of the red squirrel population which is vulnerable to pathogenic disease caused by this virus.”