If I could live anywhere it would have to be next to the sea, who wouldn't?! Imagine the sound of the waves, the sun on your face and the sand between your toes... OH WAKE UP MARK!
My first costal destination of choice would be the Island of Menorca where my parents had an apartment then a villa. It's such a tranquil place and has some beautiful beaches and areas of natural beauty and very different to its neighbouring Islands of Ibiza & Majorca. If you have never been then check it out www.menorca.es I'm sure you'll love it.
The only place that comes close to Menorca is the delightful North Wales Isle of Anglesey. In the sunshine you could convince yourself that you're on the Island of Menorca, it's beautiful. It has the same tranquility with some amazing beaches, coves and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Take a look at www.visitanglesey.co.uk
This year we decided on a UK based holiday, so packed up our little car and headed to Anglesey. It takes about 2 hours to reach Anglesey by car from North Staffordshire, the direct route is M6, M56, A55. You will notice as you cross the Britannia Bridge onto the Island how much less traffic there is and it was a pleasure to drive on the Island for the whole week - the quiet roads are lovely compared to the congested ones of North Staffordshire and South Cheshire!
The A55 cuts the through the middle off the Island joining Bangor on the mainland to Holyhead on the Holy Island. Holyhead is the main town on the Island and has regular sea crossings to Dublin.
We stayed in an old Fisherman's cottage in the small hamlet of Llanfair-yn-neubwll. A beautiful cottage with everything you need for a lovely holiday and being dog friendly we took Patch along for the ride! It really was a Tardis of a house - check it out here -
The cottage is well located close to the A55 and a 10 minute walk to the local beautiful beach of Traeth Cymyran. Also close is RAF Valley, a training facility for jet pilots. You will hear the jets coming over during the week (no flights at the weekends) and for us it was a real thrill to see and hear the jets.
If you are into watching the jets like us, there is a viewing park at the base, just look up what 3 words location of ///meatballs.spending.sand. Here I managed to grab a photo of one of the pilots closing the jets hatch before setting off.
We travelled to all our corners of the Island during our stay and here are a few of the highlights we enjoyed:
Traeth Cymyran
This was our local beach and a little quiet jewel. At the end of a quiet country lane (what three words: ///grafted.sweetened.hood) you will find parking for about 5-10 cars right next to the crash gates to the airport. You'll see a galvanised, now locked, gate and beyond a roadway down to a large sandy car park - The closed gate used to be open and people used to camp on the car park until last year when some users abused the system and blocked access to the air base. So now the gate is locked and you must walk 5 minutes down the road to access the beach. Beyond the car park you'll see a house on the right and dunes in front of you. Follow the path through the dunes and onto the beach - WOW, miles of golden sands with views of Rhosneigr in the distance flanked by the mountains of Snowdonia. The beach is open to an estuary and at full tide the estuary fills quickly so be careful to keep an eye on the tide times. You can walk the length of the beach to Rhosneigr, we didn't walk it ourselves but we were told it was about 40 minutes along the seashore.
Listen out for the pipping sounds of the Oyster Catchers who call the rocks on this beach home. Whilst on the beach I also saw Little Ringed Plover and Curlew.
This beach comes into its own at sunset - what a view. You could convince yourself you are on Mars with sand seemingly turning a deep red colour.
If you want to check out this beach enter the following what 3 words for the location -
Rhosneigr
This costal town is a Mecca for those who enjoy water sports, You'll see lots of people enjoying the waves on a variety of boats and boards being carried by the wind or waves or a combination of both - Looks way to much fun for me!! ;-)
On land there is a number surf & clothing stores & eateries, we grabbed a bite to eat in a lovely little cafe -https://www.cafenotos.co.uk and then an ice cream from Chaplins - very popular!
Whilst eating an ice cream we were entertained by this sparrow having a sand bath!
Church Bay
On the North coast of Anglesey is the quiet small village of Church bay, a beautiful secluded bay which is the home to the Lobster Pot restaurant, which has a reputation of being one of the finest seafood restaurants on the Island. You can park on the car park or on the street which ambles its way down to the cove and its beach.
On the way down from the car park down to the beach is the Wavecrest cafe (recommended by my sister in law) and alongside it a cliff top walk. Go through the traditional old gate at the side of the Wavecrest cafe to find some beautiful picturesque secluded coves with few visitors.
If that's not for you continue down the hill to a viewing platform where in one direction you can view the ships coming into Holyhead harbour and the other the cove of Church Bay.
We visited the cove at high tide so we didn't get much time to experience the beach, however I got a quick Snape of the tide coming in before we had to retreat back up the hill!
If you want to check out this beach enter the following what 3 words for the location - ///workloads.busy.circular
Llanddwyn Island
One of my favourite and magical places I visited during our time on Anglesey was Llanddwyn Island and its two old lighthouses. Very popular with photographers and with walkers alike, the Island is tidal and is accessed from the long sandy beach at the beautiful pine forested dunes of Newbrough Warren. Newborough is a part of the National Park, where the pine forest is home to the native red squirrel. You will pay for parking but its worthwhile, between £2 - £7 depending on how long you stay, its a long drive from the barrier to the actual car park so bear this in mind. Walk down to the beach via the boardwalk from the car park and turn right, walk along the sea shore for about 20 minutes and you'll arrive at the Island of Llanddwyn. Depending on the time of day and the tide (tidal times are displayed at the car park) you'll either walk straight onto the Island, wade through water to the Island or have to wait for the tide to go out!
Once on the Island follow one of two main paths to the far point of the Island where you will be greeted by the sight of two very old non lit lighthouses. If you are very lucky you will be greeted by some of the wild horses on the way who live amongst the ruins.
My favourite of the two lighthouse's (Tŵr Mawr) is on an outcrop of rocks with a pathway leading up to it. On the day I went I had to wait very patiently until the hoards of walkers disappeared to get this shot.
The other lighthouse (which I believe is still lit) is the smaller but older of the two lighthouses. Local artist Beth Horrocks has produced a beautiful painting of this lighthouse https://bethhorrocks.com/collections/anglesey-canvas/products/sea-pink-llanddwyn-1 have a look at her work, its simply stunning.
Trearddur Bay
This is my sons favourite place on the Island. It's a very safe bay with lots of rock pools and is another Mecca for those who love their water sports. The golden sandy beach is backed by a promenade and sand dunes. Its the perfect place for a family beach day.
After your hot day ate the beach why not treat yourself to an ice cream or even a meal at the Sea Shanty cafe - https://seashantycafe.co.uk In my opinion one of the best places to eat on the Island, we went for my 50th birthday treat meal and it was hearty and wholesome food - booking a table is advised as it can be very popular. They also have an ice cream parlour with so many flavours it'll be hard to decide!
So all in all we had a fab time exploring Anglesey and would definitely recommend the Island to anyone who wants a tranquil holiday!
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See you next time!
Mark
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