Anglesey Attractions
South Stack
Take a trip to the iconic South Stack Lighthouse at the very tip of Holy Island in the North West corner of Anglesey. Climb down the numerous steps to the perilous bridge connecting to the little island itself, but remember you'll have to climb back up! Visit Ellin's Tower visitor centre to see the many birds who live on the nearby cliffs. Take a bracing walk towards the North Stack Fog Signal Station.
Holyhead Breakwater Park
Holyhead Breakwater itself is an impressive length, but a little dangerous to walk along. However the nearby Breakwater Park offers lots of information on how it was constructed, and how the rock needed was hewn from Holyhead mountain itself. It is possible to walk around to South Stack from here.
Holyhead Port
Holyhead is a major ferry terminal for travelling to Ireland, and large ferries regularly disembark and arrive at the port. There is an impressive new metal bridge joining the port to Holyhead Town centre. Day trips to Dublin are available - see here.
Cemlyn Bay
Cemlyn Bay has a wonderfully quiet curving shingle beach, but its major attraction is adjacent to the bay where there is a lagoon that is often teeming with bird-life. It has been designated a 'Site of Special Scientific Interest'. A short walk to a headland reveals interesting views of Wylfa Power Station...
Wylfa Nuclear Power Station
Anglesey's Nuclear Power Station is well into its decommissioning process now, this will take quite a few years, and a new station, Wylfa Newydd is planned for the future (though recently plans were shelved).
Cemaes Bay
Cemaes Bay has a lovely harbour with many small craft coming and going. There are a few pubs and a restaurant there and ample car parking next to a sheltered beach suitable for bathing and fun. A short walk along the headland gets you to Llanbadrig Church pictured here, with great views towards the Skerries, small uninhabited islands off the coast with a prominent lighthouse.
Porth Wen Brickworks
Porth Wen Brickworks is a now disused Victorian brickworks which produced fire bricks made from silica and used to line steel-making furnaces. There are a number of buildings still standing and the remains of some of the machinery, now ravaged by rust and quite photogenic. A little tricky to get to, you can drive close but it's not easy to park, or park easily and walk further from Bull Bay.
Parys Mountain
Parys Mountain is a fabulous place to visit if you're interested in geology, or simply if you like unusual colours, because it is the site of an old copper mine with a history going back hundreds of years. It's like walking on another planet - as many film crews have exploited.
Amlwch Port
Once the copper ore had been mined from Parys Mountain, it had to be shipped off around the world, and this happened at Amlwch Port, once an incredibly busy place - now a quiet tourist attraction. It houses the headquarters of GeoMôn, an organisation promoting Anglesey's amazing geological heritage.
Llaneilian Lighthouse
Llaneilian has a quiet secluded beach and a pleasant coastal stroll around to Point Lynas Lighthouse, now a private residence.
Lligwy Beach
A pleasant coastal walk from Moelfre, Lligwy beach offers a large stretch of lovely sand, popular in the summer for water sports and quite quiet the rest of the year. There's a beach shop and amenities (seasonally open), and two large car parks.
Moelfre Lifeboat Station
The barnd new Lifeboat station is just a short walk from the centre of the Village along the Wales Coast Path. It has recently been rebuilt to house the large new lifeboat "Kiwi" that arrived in 2013. Nearby is the Seawatch Centre, see next.
RNLI Seawatch Centre
The RNLI Seawatch Centre has its own car park, or is just a short walk from the centre of Moelfre. It has glorious views over the bay towards Snowdonia, and houses an old lifeboat and many interesting exhibits and models appertaining to the wonderful work done by the RNLI over the years. Outside is a marvelous sculpture of Dick Evans, a famous local lifeboat coxswain.
Traeth Bychan
Traeth Bychan is a small sheltered beach, and is on the Anglesey Coastal Path. There's a small sandy/stony beach and boat launching facilities as well as ample parking and a café and loos. it used by the Red Wharf Bay Sailing and Watersports Club. There are great sea views and cliff walks nearby.
Benllech Beach
Benllech offers miles of sandy beach, not shown here as the tide is in! There's a café and ice cream vendor and you are close to the town itself with shops and several eating and drinking options available. The beach does in fact stretch all the way to Red Wharf Bay which is quite an easy walk at low tide.
Red Wharf Bay
Drive down to Red Wharf Bay and park along the front, and there are walks in either direction with great sea views, sandy beaches, cliffs and a restaurant all close by.
Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris is worth a visit as it contains many shops, a pier, a beautiful prom with views of Snowdonia, and the old Castle itself. Plenty of history in evidence here, and you can climb the ramparts and explore the inner walls and various rooms.
Puffin Island
Just off the eastern tip of Anglesey lies Puffin island, near Penmon Point. Once inhabited by a solitary monk, now it's the domain of the puffin and many other sea birds. There's a fabulous lighthouse with an old bell occasionally ringing out, and you might even see a pod of dolphins pass by. Day sailing trips are available from nearby Beaumaris.
Marquess of Anglesey Column
The tower is near the two bridges onto Anglesey, not far from Llanfair PG. Not so long ago you could pay the small fee and climb up the ever narrowing spiral stairs to the best view on the island. Both bridges are in view, see Snowdonia and the Lleyn, Bangor Pier and down to Puffin Island, and north to Holyhead mountain; breathtaking stuff. Elf and Safety became a problem and it is now closed, but there are plans to reopen soon.
Menai Suspension Bridge
The old bridge is something to behold, especially if you get down to the shore level and look up at it, as its true grandeur can then be appreciated. You can walk across it too, which gives great views up to the 'new' Britannia Bridge and down to Beaumaris and Bangor Pier. At some times of the day you'll see the infamous 'Swellies', whirlpool-like currents caused by the narrowness of that part of the Strait.
RAF Valley
Home to most of the RAF's fleet of Hawk training jets (now joined by prop Texans), RAF Valley can provide a daily free airshow Monday to Friday, given clement weather. Visitors can get quite close to the action at either end of the main runway, one end near Rhosneigr, the other near the base itself. If you're really lucky you may see a visiting F-35 Lightning II, F15 or Eurofighter Typhoon - or anything that happens to pass by.
Rhosneigr
Rhosneigr has wide sweeping beaches which most of the time you can have largely to yourself. Walk along Broad Beach to the south, punctuated by Lion Rock, to the ancient burial mound at Cable Bay. Stroll along the dunes to the north and be buzzed by Hawks, maybe even the Red Arrows, or SAR helicopters from nearby RAF Valley. Windsurf or kite-surf along Rhosneigr's famous beach.
St Cwyfan Church, Aberffraw
Check your tide time table, and then take a stroll out to the church in the sea, taking care not to get cut off! There's limited parking at the end of a winding lane, but it's worth the effort to see this unique church.
Llanddwyn Island
'Love Island' as it's known is reached by driving through Newborough Forest from the town of Newborough itself. There's a large car park close to the beach, and then it's a fair old walk across the sand to the island, beware of the tide which does cut the island off from time to time. It's worth the effort though as the lighthouse and secluded bays are interesting, and there are monuments and interesting geology galore.
Llynnon Mill
Pick a mildly windy day and you might get to see this fabulous old mill in action. You can purchase stone-ground wholemeal flour using organic wheat ground by the mill.
There are also two roundhouses built from timber with wattle and daub walls and a thatched roof - providing a unique insight of the life of Iron Age farmers over 3000 years ago.
Llynnon Mill is the only working windmill in Wales
Plenty of parking and a nice cafe on the site, plus other attractions.