At a glance
Wales’s largest island. 125 miles of coastline, Beaumaris UNESCO castle, beaches at Newborough and Llanddwyn, the puffins of South Stack.
About Anglesey (Ynys Môn)
Anglesey (Ynys Môn) is Wales’s largest island, separated from the mainland by the narrow Menai Strait. The Britannia Bridge (1850) and Telford’s earlier suspension bridge (1826) are the only road crossings.
Most of the island is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 125-mile (200 km) coastline is the longest of any Welsh county.
Beaumaris Castle is the fourth and most technically perfect of Edward I’s UNESCO Iron Ring castles, begun in 1295 but never completed. Anglesey is also rich in prehistory — Bryn Celli Ddu is a 5,000-year-old chambered passage tomb aligned with the summer solstice sunrise.
Top things to do
Best base towns
- Beaumaris —
- Holyhead —
- Menai Bridge —
Getting there
From Manchester
M56 → A55 westbound → cross the Britannia Bridge. Total ~115 miles, ~2 hours. Beaumaris is then 4 miles east via the A545.
From the Snowdonia side
Conwy to Beaumaris is 14 miles via the A55 and Britannia Bridge — about 25 minutes. Caernarfon to Beaumaris is 18 miles via the A55.
By train
North Wales Coast Line stops at Bangor, Llanfairpwll and Holyhead.
Hidden gems
- Cemlyn Bay
- Shingle lagoon on the north coast. Tern colony in summer. Free parking, nature reserve.
- Borthwen
- Three-cottage hamlet on Holy Island. Sheltered sandy cove that almost no one finds.
- Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens
- Lost Regency garden at Menai Bridge. Restored from dereliction since 1996.
Frequently asked questions
Anglesey covers 276 square miles and has approximately 125 miles (200 km) of coastline — the longest of any Welsh county. The population is around 70,000. It is Wales’s largest island.
Anglesey is reached by two bridges — Telford’s 1826 suspension bridge and the Britannia Bridge (1850, road and rail). The A55 expressway crosses on the Britannia Bridge.
Conwy to Beaumaris is 14 miles via the A55 and Britannia Bridge — about 25 minutes by car. Caernarfon to Beaumaris is 18 miles via the A55.
Newborough Beach on the south-west coast is widely regarded as Anglesey’s best — a 4-mile sweep of golden sand backed by Newborough Forest, with Llanddwyn Island accessible at low tide.
Yes — South Stack RSPB on Holy Island hosts puffins from April to late July, alongside razorbills, guillemots and kittiwakes. Puffin Island off Penmon also has a colony, viewable from boat trips out of Beaumaris.