At a glance
Skerries Lighthouse (LL65 3YS area) — active lighthouse on rocky islands 3 miles off north-west Anglesey. First built 1717; the last privately owned lighthouse in Britain, bought by Trinity House in 1841 for £444,984 (then the largest property price in British history). No public landing — view from Carmel Head. Free.
About the Skerries Lighthouse
Three miles off the north-west tip of Anglesey, the Skerries rocks sit squarely in the path of the Irish Sea's shipping lanes. A lighthouse has marked them since 1717 — and for most of that time, it was private property, earning its owners toll dues from every ship that passed. By 1841, when Trinity House finally bought it, the Skerries was the last remaining private lighthouse in Britain — and the purchase price (£444,984) was the highest ever paid for property in the country.
The lighthouse is active and the island is closed to visitors, but from Carmel Head on the mainland — the north-westernmost point of Anglesey — the tower is clearly visible across the water. The coastal scenery around Carmel Head is wild and dramatic; Cemlyn Bay (two miles east) has the best tern colony in Wales. This is one of the most remote corners of Anglesey, and one of the most rewarding for those who make the effort to reach it.
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Frequently asked questions
The Skerries (Ynysoedd y Moelrhoniaid — the "Islands of the Bald Seals") is a group of rocky islets approximately 3 miles off the north-west tip of Anglesey, directly in the path of ships navigating through the North Channel between Britain and Ireland. A lighthouse was first established on the Skerries in 1717 by a private patent holder — one of the many privately owned lighthouses that dotted the British coast in the 18th century, earning tolls from passing ships. The Skerries was a particularly lucrative light: positioned on one of the busiest shipping routes in the Irish Sea, it earned its owners enormous income from toll dues. By the early 19th century, when Trinity House was acquiring private lighthouses under parliamentary legislation, the Skerries was the last remaining privately owned lighthouse in Britain — and its owners knew it. In 1841, Trinity House finally purchased the Skerries for £444,984 — at the time the largest sum ever paid for any property in Britain.
The Skerries island is not open to public visits — it is an active lighthouse station and a designated nature reserve (supporting breeding tern colonies), and there is no regular public landing. The lighthouse can be viewed from the mainland coast near Carmel Head on the north-west tip of Anglesey — binoculars are helpful for a clear view. Occasional boat trips around the north Anglesey coast may pass close to the Skerries, giving views from the water. The island itself is low-lying rock, and the lighthouse tower (white, with a flashing light visible for many miles at sea) is the most prominent feature. The tern colony on the Skerries is significant — Roseate terns, Arctic terns, and Common terns breed here, making it an important seabird site.
The best mainland viewpoint for the Skerries is from Carmel Head (Trwyn y Carmel) — the north-westernmost point of Anglesey, approximately 2 miles from Cemlyn Bay lagoon. Carmel Head is reached by a coastal path from Llanfairynghornwy or from roadside parking near the head. The rocky coastal scenery is dramatic, with views north towards the Irish Sea and west towards the Irish coast. The Skerries lighthouse is clearly visible approximately 3 miles offshore. The approach to Carmel Head crosses rough coastal terrain — boots and care are required. Cemlyn Bay (2 miles east) is an excellent companion visit, particularly in summer when the tern colony at the lagoon is active.
The Skerries and the surrounding sea support notable wildlife. The island itself holds breeding colonies of Common tern, Arctic tern, and occasionally the rare Roseate tern — the latter being one of the rarest seabirds breeding in Britain. Grey seals are present around the Skerries rocks year-round. From Carmel Head on the mainland, seawatching in the right conditions (westerly winds in spring and autumn particularly) can produce excellent results: Manx shearwater, storm petrel, gannet, skuas, and various other oceanic species pass the north Anglesey coast on migration. Bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoise are occasionally seen in the waters around the headland. The nearby Cemlyn Bay lagoon (2 miles) is an SSSI with a large tern colony and is one of the best birdwatching sites in Anglesey.
The Skerries lighthouse was extraordinarily valuable because of its position on one of the most heavily used shipping routes in the world. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the North Channel between Britain and Ireland was crowded with commercial shipping — vessels carrying goods between Liverpool (the major Atlantic port), Dublin, and beyond. All of them passed within sight of the Skerries, and all of them paid toll dues to the lighthouse patent holder for the light that kept them off the rocks. At the peak, the Skerries was earning its owners tens of thousands of pounds per year in tolls — a vast income by the standards of the period. When Trinity House moved to consolidate all private lighthouses under public ownership (eliminating the anomaly of private individuals profiting from what was effectively a public safety service), the Skerries owners held out the longest and extracted the highest price. The £444,984 paid in 1841 was genuinely the most expensive property transaction in British history to that point.