Best Scenic Place in Wales, United Kingdom - Map and Reviews

Anglesey is an island county off the northwest coast of Wales, separated from the Welsh mainland by the Menai Strait, a narrow channel of fast-moving tidal water that gives the island its distinctive character as a place apart. Known in Welsh as Ynys Môn, it is the largest island in Wales and in England and Wales combined, covering around 276 square miles. The coordinates 53.29389, -4.37667 fall broadly in the central-northern part of the island, an area that captures much of what makes Anglesey so compelling: a quietly dramatic landscape of low-lying farmland, ancient monuments, coastal paths and sweeping sea views that stretches in every direction. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty across much of its coastline, and draws visitors for everything from prehistoric archaeology to world-class beaches and sailing. The island's history stretches back to the Neolithic period and beyond. Anglesey was one of the most sacred centres of Druidic culture in Britain, and the Romans under Suetonius Paulinus crossed the Menai Strait in 60 AD specifically to destroy the Druids who had made their stronghold here, an event described vividly by Tacitus. The island is extraordinarily rich in prehistoric remains: the burial chamber of Bryn Celli Ddu, a sophisticated Neolithic passage tomb aligned with the rising sun at the summer solstice, lies a few miles to the south of these coordinates; Barclodiad y Gawres, a chambered cairn on the west coast, contains some of the finest megalithic art in Britain. In the medieval period, Anglesey served as the breadbasket of Wales, its fertile soils feeding the populations of the Welsh kingdoms, earning it the title Môn Mam Cymru — Anglesey, Mother of Wales. Physically, the interior of Anglesey near these coordinates has a gently rolling, agricultural feel — wide fields divided by low hedgerows and dry-stone walls, punctuated by small farms and clusters of whitewashed cottages. The sky here feels immense, a vast canopy that changes constantly as Atlantic weather systems roll in off the Irish Sea. On a clear day the mountains of Snowdonia rise dramatically to the southeast across the Menai Strait, offering a backdrop of purple and grey peaks that contrasts with the island's own more modest, horizontal terrain. The light on Anglesey is famously clear and bright, beloved by artists and photographers, with coastal views extending on fine days toward the Llŷn Peninsula, the Isle of Man, and even the distant mountains of Ireland. The coastline around Anglesey is one of its greatest glories. The Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path runs for 125 miles around the entire perimeter of the island, passing through habitats ranging from sandy dunes and rocky coves to salt marshes and sea cliffs alive with seabirds. Beaches like Rhosneigr and Llanddwyn Island on the west coast, and Red Wharf Bay and Benllech on the east, attract surfers, swimmers and walkers. The interior is quieter and less visited, a place of ancient lanes, holy wells and small stone churches, many with pre-Norman origins. Llangefni, the island's county town, sits roughly at its centre and serves as a modest market hub. Holy Island, connected to the western edge of Anglesey by a causeway, contains the busy ferry port of Holyhead and the dramatic South Stack Lighthouse and its spectacular RSPB seabird reserve. Anglesey is easily reached from mainland Britain. The A55 North Wales Expressway crosses the island via the two great bridges over the Menai Strait: Thomas Telford's elegant suspension bridge of 1826 and Robert Stephenson's tubular Britannia Bridge of 1850, rebuilt after a fire. Regular trains run from London Euston and other cities to Holyhead, passing through Bangor on the mainland just opposite the island. There is no commercial airport on Anglesey itself, though a small airfield at Mona serves private and light aircraft. The island is best visited between May and September for the warmest weather and longest daylight hours, though autumn and winter bring their own austere beauty and many of the archaeological sites are uncrowded and atmospheric in the low season. Camping, self-catering cottages and small hotels are scattered widely across the island. Among the island's more unusual stories is the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, on the southern shore near the Britannia Bridge, whose absurdly elongated name — invented in the nineteenth century as a publicity stunt — is the longest place name in Europe and one of the longest in the world. Tourists flock to photograph the train station sign. Less well known is the fact that Anglesey was once connected to the Welsh mainland by a land bridge, only submerging as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age — a reminder that the island's isolation is geologically recent. The island also holds the grave of a dog named Gelert in Beddgelert, or rather, that is a legend associated with the mainland nearby; Anglesey has its own rich mythology, forming the setting for several of the tales in the Mabinogion, the great treasury of Welsh medieval literature, and the otherworldly resonance of the landscape makes that connection feel entirely believable.