14 Amazing Things to do in Llanddwyn Island
What an amazing site Llanddwyn Island is a rocky volcanic outcropping surrounded by the most breathtaking scenery, situated on the magnificent south coast of Anglesey. Additionally, the island is rich in ancient history and folklore.
Mountains in the Snowdonian range can be seen to the east, and rugged hills on the Lynn Peninsula can be found to the south. To the north is the Pine Forest of Newborough, while to the west is the enormous expanse of the bay with its long sandy beach (Home to red Squirrels)
In essence, you are losing out if you don’t travel to Llanddwyn Island in Anglesey when in North Wales. And it’s actually among the most picturesque spots to visit.
Llanddwyn Island
This isolated tidal island is surrounded on both sides by kilometres of golden sand beaches, and its back is covered in a lovely pine forest. All of this is set against the spellbinding Snowdonia & Llyn Peninsula mountains.
But more than just the breathtaking scenery contributes to this location’s allure. The island also exudes a strong feeling of mystery and history. Later, more on that.
This fast guide to Llanddwyn Island in Anglesey will provide you with all the information you need to make travel arrangements. Including directions, parking information, amenities, activities, and wildlife to watch out for. Let’s get going.
1. Where is it located?
The simplest way to travel is in your own automobile. However, arrive early, particularly on weekends and holidays. Parking spots fill up rapidly, and once they are, most visitors leave for the day.
Your registration number is read by an ANPR camera when you enter the Llanddwyn Island parking area. After that, you pay at the exit barrier for the period you spent parking. For the first two hours, it costs £2, then 40p for each additional 20 minutes, with a maximum fee of £7. It is not permissible to park overnight. Additionally, a height barrier is placed in place from 5 pm to 9 am to keep vehicles taller than 2 metres out of the parking lot.
The neighbourhood is also accessible by bus. The #42 bus travels from Bangor to Newborough Beach through Menai Bridge town. The schedule and route are available here. The final 3 miles/5 km to the shore, however, must be travelled by foot, bicycle, or hitchhiker.
2. Access to Llanddwyn Island
The journey to Llanddwyn Island itself is somewhat strenuous. Either route involves passing through Newborough Forest before crossing rocky outcrops and sand dunes. Or proceed straight down the beach. We travelled there via the woodland and returned via the beach.
The Llanddwyn Island hikes take about 30 minutes to complete, and it takes an additional 15 to 20 minutes to reach the end. Even better is to bring a picnic and spend some time on a quiet beach.
3. Walk to Llanddwyn Island
There are two ways to circle the island. You choose the route via the centre that is more straightforward. Alternatively, you can travel the length on the scenic, winding coastal path.
A massive Celtic cross, the first lighthouse of Llanddwyn, Tr Mawr, and the ruins of a mediaeval stone chapel may all be found as you get closer to the tip. You’ll find a row of little whitewashed cottages by following the shoreline.
These previously served as the residence of the pilots in charge of directing vessels into the Menai Strait. And from 1840 to 1903, they operated a lifeboat that was moored here. In 35 different events, 101 lives were saved throughout that period. Beyond it, you’ll find a second, smaller lighthouse on Llanddwyn Island named Twr Bach.
4. Finding wildlife
Since the entire region is a part of Newborough Warren National Nature Reserve, there is an abundance of species both on land and in the water. A little islet off the coast of Llanddwyn Island is known as Ynys yr Adar, which translates to “Bird Rock.” Cormorants, shags, and oystercatchers are all over it. Additionally, it’s likely that you’ll see seals playing in the surf near Llanddwyn Bay.
5. Yellow and pink Wildflowers
Numerous uncommon plants and vegetation can be found in the dunes, salt marshes, and mudflats of the Newborough Nature Reserve. The pillow lava volcanic rocks at the island’s base will captivate geology enthusiasts. When lava erupted from the seafloor 500 million years ago, they were created.
The trees of Newborough Forest are also home to a sizable yet elusive red squirrel population. Seeing one is pretty infrequent, so if you do, you are quite very lucky.
6. Sacred Heart Cathedral Church
St. Dwynwen’s Church requires no introduction because you just read about St. Dwynwen earlier in this essay. The old monastery, which dates back to the fifth century, served as the foundation for the 16th-century church that bears St. Dwynwen’s name.
Even though there is currently only a ruin, it is a really atmospheric ruin that is surrounded by breathtaking vistas on all sides.
7. Lighthouse Tr Mawr
Of the two lighthouses on Llanddwyn Island, this one is the best-kept and most frequently photographed. And as you get closer, it’s extremely clear why. The lighthouse’s curving stone steps elegantly direct the viewer’s attention into the shot, and because it is positioned on the southwest corner of the island, It has unhindered views of the ocean behind it and is slightly raised.
The 11-meter-tall Tr Mawr, which translates to “big tower,” was constructed in 1873 in the manner of an Anglesey windmill. It served as a landmark for the rocky peninsula close to Anglesey’s southwest corner for about 130 years, from 1846 to 1975, and could be seen up to seven miles distant.
Having nearly precisely timed the excursion to Llanddwyn Island with the moment the sunset. In order to capture Tr Mawr at sunset, you can discover a number of serious photographers there with their tripods set up.
8. Bach Lighthouse in Tr
The original lighthouse at Llanddwyn Island was actually Tr Bach Lighthouse, which was somewhat eclipsed by Tr Mawr. This fact is supported by the name of the lighthouse, which means “little tower.” However, because it was difficult for ships coming from the west to see, another lighthouse (Tr Mawr) was erected in its place.
The reason why Tr Mawr stopped operating in 1975 is something I can’t manage to find out online. But when it did, Tr Bach’s lighthouse received a new, contemporary navigation beacon, and it is still in use today, whilst Tr Mawr only exists for ornamental purposes.
9. Pilot’s Cabins
To safely steer ships across the sand bars & into port, the Harbour Trust engaged pilots. These pilots resided in the row of cottages you can see between the two lighthouses at one end of the island.
The Pilot’s Cottages, which were constructed just before 1830, were occupied until the early to mid-1940s, whenever the pilot station was shut down. Later, the houses were converted into a museum of local maritime history.
Normally only open during the summer vacations, the museum was closed to the public in 2018 and 2019 to allow for the filming of the new BBC series The 1900 Island. Even yet, it’s fascinating to look at these cottages from the outside and to catch a glimpse of a bygone era through their windows.
10. Bay Llanddwym
Llanddwyn is surrounded by massive sand dunes and offers breathtaking views of the Llyn Peninsula, Caemarfon, and the Snowdonia National Park.
From the beach at Llanddwyn Island, a path winds over grassy hills to the nature reserve, and the woodland close offers a magnificent network of footpaths.
They rank among the top beaches in Anglesey. This beach has so much to offer you if you plan to visit a couple of our beaches while on vacation. From bathing, wind- and kite-surfing, fishing, and sunbathing to ancient Celtic romance. It’s all here. Waiting patiently for you.
11. Outdoors and Active
Making the most of the outdoors is simple in Anglesey because there is no shortage of open space. And you can travel there as you wish — on foot, on a bicycle, or by boat.
Fans of action will be attracted to one of the numerous sporting events held on the island each year. Try the difficult Anglesey leg of the Endurance Life Coast Trail Series, which includes Holyhead Mountain and the beach at Trearddur Bay, among other locations. Participate in the Anglesey Hiking Festival, a two-week event open to walkers of all ages and skill levels, or take in our well-liked cycling event, the Tour de Môn. Are you courageous enough to complete the 106-mile course that begins at Holyhead’s Newry Beach?
12. Cycling
There is no better way than by bike to take in all the beauty that Anglesey has to offer. Cycling, after all, allows you to experience a shift in pace, feel the wind in your hair, and really appreciate the untouched landscapes and sweeping vistas that Anglesey is so rich in.
Because Anglesey is a cycling-friendly island, two of the UK’s nine cycle routes are located here. This 36-mile loop travels from the North East of the island via the only operating windmill in Wales and Parys Mountain’s lunar landscape. Ride it anticlockwise to test yourself and take advantage of some energising climbs.
As an alternative, Lôn Las Cefni offers a 13-mile cycle path that is free of traffic, great for the whole family to enjoy, and abundant in wildlife.
13. The countryside of South West Corner
It truly is no surprise that Anglesey’s pristine coastline and landscapes, which span over 220 square miles, have been designated an Area for Outstanding Natural Beauty. Anglesey does indeed think of everyone, whether you desire quiet greenery punctuated by a carpet of vibrant flowers or the unparalleled beauty of the towering cliffs, which are the nesting grounds for numerous seabirds.
Take a stroll along the shore to observe mossy headlands, grass dunes, and bays or go inland to find lakes, marshes, woods and estuaries. Additionally, it is simple to observe the wildlife practically buzzing around because there are natural reserves, country parks, and particular sites of interest right outside your door.
There are many wonderful places to explore nature here, such as Cors Erddreiniog, Anglesey’s largest fen, where you may find Fly Orchid, Carnivorous Sundew, and a variety of butterflies, moths, and dragonflies among the vibrant reed beds.
The Llyn Cefni Reservoir is alive with sounds of warblers, wrens, and the occasional Kingfisher, while the dunes near Newborough Forest as well as Warren are teeming with shore dock, butterwort, dwarf adder’s tongue, and great crested newts, as well as the occasional therapeutic leech.
14. Beaches
It is an island with 125 miles of breathtaking coastline surrounding it; Anglesey excels at beaches. The award-winning beaches provide the ideal setting, whether your ideal beach day entails packing a good picnic and taking in the surrounding beauty or simply loading up on ball games, buckets, spades, and fishing nets.
1. Facilities at Llanddwyn Beach
There are restrooms, a cafe, picnic tables, and barbeque sites at Llanddwyn Beach Parking, also known as Newborough Beach Parking. Please be aware that from May 1 through May 30, dogs are not permitted on the island, even though they are permitted on the beach. Rare wildflowers & seabird nests are to blame for this.
2. Llanddwyn Newborough Beach Activities
Newborough Beach, a blue flag beach, is on par with any beach in Wales, not to mention the rest of the United Kingdom. It is a vast area of sand that stretches from Abermenai Point in the southwest corner of Anglesey to Llanddwyn Island & beyond.
Penrhos beach is the name of the beach on the opposite side of Llanddwyn Island. Due to its isolation, or Traeth Penrhos to offer it its Welsh name, it is relatively calm. These beaches can never get crowded because of their size and parking restrictions.
Final Note
Anglesey, a larger island close off the coast of North Wales, has Llanddwyn Island in its southwest corner. The little headland is only technically an island during high tide. It is only then that it is severed from the Isle of Anglesey. There are many things to do, like llanddwyn island lighthouse, west coast, welsh island, welsh patron saint of lovers, welsh equivalent, and so many others.
It is an extremely exposed and isolated position where the weather is subject to sudden changes. As a result, constantly pay attention to weather prediction, especially during the winter. Of course, you should also be aware of the tide information for Llanddwyn Island on that particular day.
