Anglesey sits off the north-west corner of Wales, separated from the mainland by the narrow tidal channel of the Menai Strait and joined to it by two nineteenth-century bridges. It is the largest island in Wales and by some distance the flattest part of the country, which comes as a surprise to anyone who has just driven past the peaks of Eryri to get there. The interior is low, green farmland; the drama is all around the edges, where 125 miles of coastline switch between dune-backed beaches, sheer quartzite cliffs and small working harbours within a few miles of each other.
Most of that coast is designated as a National Landscape, and the Anglesey Coastal Path traces almost all of it in a continuous 130-mile loop. You do not need to walk the whole thing to get the point. An hour on the cliffs above Holyhead Mountain, or a slow afternoon crossing the tidal causeway to Ynys Llanddwyn, gives you the same combination that makes the island worth the drive: open water on three sides and the mountains of the mainland filling the horizon behind you.
The island is also unusually rich in prehistory. Burial chambers, standing stones and Iron Age hut circles are scattered across the fields, several of them free to visit and rarely busy. Welsh is widely spoken here, more so than in most of the North Wales resorts across the water, and the island's food producers have built a reputation well beyond Wales. Anglesey rewards a slow week more than a rushed weekend.
Top things to do in Anglesey
The island's attractions are spread around the coast rather than clustered in one town, so plan on short drives between them.
- South Stack Cliffs An RSPB reserve on the far western tip where razorbills, guillemots and choughs nest on the sea cliffs from April to July, with puffins in smaller numbers. A flight of around 400 steps and a bridge lead down to the 1809 lighthouse on its own rock stack.
- Beaumaris Castle Edward I's last and most geometrically perfect Welsh castle, begun in 1295 and never finished. The concentric walls and water-filled moat sit right on the edge of town, with the Snowdonia skyline directly across the strait.
- Ynys Llanddwyn and Newborough Beach A long dune-backed strand with a tidal island at its end, home to the ruined church of St Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers. The pine forest behind it is one of the best places in Wales to see red squirrels.
- Holyhead Mountain and Breakwater Country Park At 220 metres the island's highest point, with an Iron Age hut group on its slopes and views to Ireland on clear days. The country park below sits beside the longest breakwater in Britain.
- Llanfairpwllgwyngyll The village with the famously overlong Victorian invented name, worth the photograph at the railway platform sign and a stop at the visitor centre.
- Plas Newydd A National Trust house on the Menai Strait with Humphry Repton gardens and Rex Whistler's enormous dining-room mural, plus one of the best strait-side walks on the island.
- Bryn Celli Ddu A Neolithic passage tomb aligned on the midsummer sunrise, free to visit and reached by a short walk across fields near Llanddaniel Fab.
- Moelfre and the north-east coast A small stone-built fishing village with a lifeboat museum and a superb stretch of coast path north to Lligwy Bay and the Din Lligwy hut group.
Getting to Anglesey
By rail, Avanti West Coast runs direct services from London Euston to Holyhead, roughly every two hours, with around nine trains a day. The fastest take about three hours 47 minutes and the average is close to four hours. The line runs along the North Wales coast and then across the island, so Llanfairpwll, Bodorgan, Ty Croes, Rhosneigr and Valley all have stations, though services at the smaller ones are sparse. Bangor, on the mainland side of the strait, is the busiest interchange and a sensible arrival point if you are hiring a car.
By road, the A55 North Wales Expressway is the spine of the journey. It runs dual carriageway from Chester past Conwy and Bangor, crosses the Menai Strait on the Britannia Bridge and continues the length of the island to Holyhead. From Chester expect around an hour and a quarter to the bridge; from Manchester or Birmingham allow three to three and a half hours. The older Menai Suspension Bridge, Telford's 1826 original, is the prettier crossing and drops you straight into Menai Bridge town.
Once on the island a car is close to essential, as bus services between villages are infrequent. Parking is generally straightforward and often free at the smaller beaches, but Newborough, Trearddur Bay and Beaumaris fill by mid-morning on warm summer days. Newborough's forest car park charges a flat daily fee. Holyhead port has sailings to Dublin, which makes Anglesey an easy add-on to an Irish trip. The nearest airports with scheduled flights are Liverpool and Manchester, both around two to two and a half hours by road.
Best time to visit Anglesey
Spring is arguably the best season. From April the seabird colonies at South Stack fill up, the cliffs go yellow with gorse, and the coast path is dry underfoot without the summer crowds. Late April and May often bring the clearest air of the year, which matters when half the appeal is the view across to the mainland mountains.
Summer, June to August, is when the sea is warm enough for comfortable swimming and when Rhosneigr, Trearddur Bay and Benllech come alive with watersports. It is also when the island is busiest: accommodation is booked months ahead for the school holidays, beach car parks fill early, and the good restaurants need reserving. The compensation is long daylight, with sunsets over Ynys Llanddwyn well after nine in June.
Autumn suits walkers. September often holds decent weather with far fewer people, the sea is at its warmest of the year, and the light on the cliffs is excellent for photography. October brings the first real gales but also empty beaches and cheaper stays.
Winter is bracing rather than bleak. The island is low-lying so snow is rare, but Atlantic weather comes in hard from the west and storm-watching from Holyhead breakwater is a genuine attraction. Some campsites and smaller attractions close from November to March, so check before travelling; the castles, coast path and larger hotels stay open.
Where to stay in Anglesey
Beaumaris, on the eastern shore, is the most polished base. Georgian and Victorian buildings face the strait, the castle and pier are a short walk apart, and it has the densest concentration of good places to eat. It suits couples and anyone who wants to walk to dinner. Prices reflect that.
Menai Bridge, just over Telford's bridge, is smaller and less obviously touristy but has become the island's food centre. It is a practical base for exploring both Anglesey and Eryri, since the mainland is minutes away.
For beach holidays, Trearddur Bay and Rhosneigr on the west coast are the obvious choices. Trearddur has a sheltered sandy bay and a good spread of family accommodation; Rhosneigr is windier, more surf-and-kite oriented, and popular with a younger crowd. Both are within easy reach of Holyhead and South Stack.
The north-east coast around Benllech, Moelfre and Dulas is quieter and heavy on caravan and camping parks, with good sandy beaches and lower prices, which makes it the natural fit for families on a budget. Walkers wanting the wildest coast should look at Cemaes and Amlwch on the north shore, or Aberffraw in the south-west, where accommodation is thin but the scenery is at its most exposed.
Food and drink in Anglesey
The Menai Strait is the island's larder. Mussels are dredged commercially from the strait and appear on menus all over the island, usually with cider or cream, and Menai oysters are farmed nearby. Halen Môn harvests sea salt from strait water at its visitor centre near Brynsiencyn, where you can tour the saltcote and buy the smoked and flavoured varieties direct.
Menai Bridge punches far above its size. Sosban and The Old Butchers, set in a converted butcher's shop with only a handful of covers, holds a Michelin star and a waiting list that runs months deep. Dylan's sits on the waterfront with views of the suspension bridge and does a busy trade in Welsh mussels and wood-fired pizza. On the west of the island, The Marram Grass near Newborough grew out of a caravan-site café into a serious kitchen built around island produce.
Beaumaris has the best casual eating, with cafés, delis and pubs along Castle Street and the Green. Pub food is strong across the island, and The White Eagle at Rhoscolyn is worth the detour for its coastal position and its use of local butchers and oyster growers. For provisions, farm shops and village bakeries are better bets than supermarkets. Look out for Welsh cakes, bara brith, laverbread on breakfast menus, and beers from small North Wales breweries in most decent pubs.
