At a glance
Anglesey (Ynys Môn) is the largest island in Wales — connected to the mainland at Bangor by the A55 Britannia Bridge and Telford's 1826 Menai Suspension Bridge. The island has the finest beaches in North Wales (Benllech, Newborough, Red Wharf Bay), Beaumaris Castle (UNESCO), South Stack lighthouse and RSPB reserve, and an exceptional concentration of prehistoric sites including Bryn Celli Ddu. The 125-mile Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path is one of Britain's best coastal walking routes.
Exploring Anglesey
Anglesey's relationship with the mainland has always been defined by the Menai Strait — the 20km tidal channel that separates the island from Gwynedd, running fast enough to have surprised Thomas Telford when he came to bridge it in the 1820s. The island's agricultural landscape — relatively flat, intensively farmed, more open than the mountain interior of the mainland — has a different character from Snowdonia: a settled, ancient landscape where the field patterns go back to the Bronze Age and the standing stones, burial chambers, and hillforts sit in working farmland rather than on picturesque moorland. The prehistoric density of Anglesey — more Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments per square kilometre than almost anywhere else in Britain — is an expression of the island's agricultural richness: this was the breadbasket of prehistoric northwest Wales, able to support a population that built in stone and buried its important dead under permanent monuments.
The beaches are what most visitors come for, and they are genuinely exceptional. Newborough Beach — accessed through Newborough Forest, a Corsican pine plantation established in the 1940s to stabilise the dune system — has a combination of wide, firm sand, Llanddwyn Island accessible at low tide, and views back to Snowdonia across the strait that is almost without equivalent in North Wales. Benllech, on the east coast, is the most family-friendly beach on the island: Blue Flag, safe shallow water, a car park immediately behind the dunes, and good facilities without the frantic infrastructure of a resort. Red Wharf Bay — a vast, arc-shaped bay that empties at low tide to an enormous expanse of sand — is best visited at mid-tide when there is enough sand to walk but enough water for the colour.
South Stack, on the northwest coast, is the most dramatic coastal headland in North Wales. The lighthouse stands on a small island connected by a suspension bridge and reached by 400 stone steps cut into the cliff — the descent and ascent are worth the effort for the views from the lighthouse island back to the mainland. The cliff habitat on the surrounding RSPB reserve supports the densest breeding population of chough (the red-billed crow that is the heraldic symbol of Wales) of any site in North Wales; puffins arrive in spring and the cliff ledges carry razorbills and guillemots from March to August.
Top Anglesey attractions
- Newborough Beach and Llanddwyn Island — vast dune beach; walk through the forest; Llanddwyn Island accessible at low tide (lighthouse ruins, patron saint of Welsh lovers).
- Benllech Beach — Blue Flag; family-friendly; safe shallow water; car park behind the beach.
- Red Wharf Bay — enormous tidal bay; excellent pub (the Ship Inn); good for low-tide walking.
- Beaumaris Castle — UNESCO; most technically perfect concentric castle in Britain; waterfront town.
- South Stack Lighthouse — RSPB reserve; breeding chough, puffins, razorbills; 400 steps to the lighthouse island.
- Bryn Celli Ddu — Neolithic passage grave; free access; aligned to the midsummer sunrise; near Llanfair PG.
- Puffin Island — seabird colony off the Penmon coast; boat trips from Beaumaris in season.
- Penmon Priory — medieval Augustinian priory; free; dovecote and holy well; walk to the lighthouse.
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Frequently asked questions
Anglesey (Ynys Môn in Welsh) is best known for its beaches — Benllech, Red Wharf Bay, Newborough, Trearddur Bay, and Silver Bay are among the finest in North Wales. The island is also known for Beaumaris Castle (UNESCO, 1295), the most technically sophisticated concentric castle in Britain; South Stack lighthouse and RSPB reserve (breeding chough, puffins, and peregrine); the Neolithic burial chambers at Barclodiad y Gawres and Bryn Celli Ddu; and the world's longest official place name (Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch). The Menai Strait separates the island from the North Wales mainland.
The best beaches on Anglesey are: Benllech (Blue Flag; safe shallow water; excellent for families; car park behind the beach); Red Wharf Bay (huge bay, sand for miles at low tide; sheltered; excellent pub); Newborough Beach (vast dune beach through Newborough Forest; walk to Llanddwyn Island with lighthouse ruins); Trearddur Bay (sheltered cove; clear water; good sea swimming; facilities); Silver Bay (remote; reached by single-track road; one of Anglesey's finest west-coast beaches); and Cable Bay (Porth Trecastell — prehistoric chambered cairn above the beach; good swimming). Rhosneigr is popular with surfers and water sports enthusiasts.
Yes — the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path (125 miles, typically 10–12 days for the full circuit) is one of the finest coastal walking routes in Britain. The path circumnavigates the entire island, passing dramatic cliff sections on the northwest coast (South Stack, Holyhead Mountain — the highest point on Anglesey at 220m), sandy bays on the south coast, and the calm estuary-like shores of the Menai Strait. Day sections can be walked using the island's bus network for return transport. The section from Beaumaris to Penmon Point (5 miles, lighthouse, medieval priory, Snowdonia views across the strait) is the most accessible and rewarding single day.
South Stack is a small island lighthouse off the northwest coast of Anglesey, connected to the mainland by a suspension bridge and 400 steps. The lighthouse (1809) is operated by Trinity House and open for tours in summer. The surrounding RSPB reserve (Ynys Lawd) has breeding chough — the red-billed crow emblematic of Wales — puffins (spring-summer), razorbills, guillemots, and peregrine falcon on the cliffs. The RSPB visitor centre has good optics for viewing nesting seabirds from the clifftop. Access is free to the headland; the lighthouse tour and RSPB car park charge applies.
Anglesey is connected to the mainland by two bridges across the Menai Strait. The Britannia Bridge (1850, rebuilt 1972) carries the A55 North Wales Expressway and the main rail line to Holyhead — the primary route for car travel. The Menai Suspension Bridge (Thomas Telford, 1826) carries the A5 and is the older, more scenic crossing — walkable for pedestrians. Bangor (rail station on the North Wales Coast Line) is the nearest mainland city, 1.5 miles from the Britannia Bridge. Holyhead (on Anglesey) is the ferry terminal for Irish Ferries and Stena Line services to Dublin.
Anglesey has the highest density of prehistoric sites in Wales. The most significant are: Bryn Celli Ddu (a Neolithic passage grave near Llanfair PG — outstanding preservation, free access, facing the midsummer sunrise); Barclodiad y Gawres (a Neolithic passage grave above Cable Bay with decorated stones — Cadw, key required from nearby caravan site); Anglesey Druid's Circle sites; and the Din Lligwy ancient village (Romano-British, free access, well-preserved circular huts). Anglesey was the last stronghold of the Druids in Britain before the Roman general Suetonius Paulinus destroyed their sanctuary in 60 AD.