East
Coast of Anglesey :
The east coast of Anglesey offers a wide variety of attractions and
places to visit, from historic sites, harbour villages, fantastic countryside
and beautiful beaches.
Penmon Priory and St
Seiriol's Holy Well in the south east corner is
well worth a visit. It is just a short drive, or walk, along quiet country
lanes from the historic town of Beaumaris.
There is also an option to use the toll road from Penmon that continues
a further 2 miles to the point that overlooks "Puffin Island".
From Penmon it is just a short journey to Red
Wharf Bay, (Traeth
Coch) a wide expanse
of a sandy beach. The huge bay provides safe conditions for sailing and
the local sailing club, Red Wharf Bay Sailing Club,
offers opportunities
for beginners to the more experienced sailors. It is an area of outstanding
natural beauty and at low tide there is up to 10 sq. mile of sand.
This attracts a large number of birds, including curlew, oyster-catchers,
dunlin. and shelduck.
The northern end of the beach leads to Benllech
Bay and another popular east coast beach, Benllech Beach.
Benllech is a well
organised beach, if you like your beaches organised, with plenty of facilities
including Car Parking close to the beach, toilets, cafes, and with the
added bonus of beach rangers organising children's games. Should your
children prefer to amuse themselves Benllech offers plenty of opportunities
with golden sands, rock pools for crabbing and streams chasing the ebbing
tide.
Continuing north we come to the harbour village of Moelfre renowned
for its maritime history and the
continuing efforts of it's life boat
crews.
Moelfre leads to Lligwy Beach, where rolling countryside reaches fantastic
beaches and if you can drag yourself away from Lligwy it is but a short
drive down beautiful country lanes to one of my favourites.. Dulas Bay.
Dulas Bay needs a page of it's own but suffice to say that it appears
to be a land locked inland sea or lake. But in fact there is a small
opening at the north east corner that allows the sea to ebb and flow.
As I have said at high tide you would believe the bay to be a lake, but
at low tide it is a massive expanse of sand and mud. When arriving at
Dulas Bay from Lligwy (the seaward end of the Bay) by car it can be a
bit disconcerting as the narrow lane gets narrower and narrower until
there is no way to go but on to the rather dodgy looking sand. By dodgy
I mean posssibly sinking sand. So don't risk it. Luckily there is another
option that involves reversing back up the lane a few hundred yards to a
gateway where there is enough room to turn around.
On to the north east corner of Anglesey and Point
Lynas. Point Lynas
is midway between Amlwch and Dulas Bay and has the honour of being one
of the top 12 hotspots to see dolphins and whales in the United Kingdom.The
BBC Wildlife magazine lists it as one of the best land places to see
dolphins and whales in action. However don't expect to find dolphins
or whales performing at all times. Patience is the watchword, keep an
eye on the same patch of water for a long time and watch out for "blows"
or a dorsal fin breaking the water or even a large shape lying motionless
in the water.