Newborough Beach
Don’t be put off by the £5 main-carpark charge to access the beach, the huge woodland and Llanddwyn Island, it’s well worth it! At the large car park furthest from the entrance to the area (the beach entrance and also the start of some of the trails) there is a clean, modern toilet block and mobile burger van. Elsewhere there are car parks for the woodland walks (which are well signposted). There are many walks and mountain-bike trails in the woods and one of the best sandy beaches you’ll ever come across anywhere in the world. The beach is lovely and clean and stretches for miles. Near the headland there are rocks to climb and rock-pools to explore – hours of fun for children. Dogs are welcome in all areas between 01 October and 30 April, for the rest of the time restrictions apply: from the main car park, dogs are limited to the left side of the beach.
Take a picnic and make a day of it!
Newborough Forest
Newborough Forest forms the southernmost corner of Anglesey. It planted with Corsican pine trees in the 1950s to stabilise a large area of moving sand dunes. It’s a working forest producing over 10,000 tonnes of timber per year and has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The forest is famed for its huge raven roost (up to 2,000 birds have been recorded), and other notable species include crossbills and siskins. In the summer, the forest is permeated by the entrancing song of skylarks. Red squirrels make their home here – the site is well known as one of their strongholds. The sand dunes harbour many rare and interesting plants, such as butterwort, dune helleborine, dwarf adder’s tongue and shore dock. The area has a thriving invertebrate population. It includes scarce species such as the small red damselfly and the hairy dragonfly, as well as mining bees and the rare hoverfly. There are medicinal leeches in some of the wet dune slacks, and even a population of great crested newts!
Llanddwyn Island
At the far end of the beautiful beach is Llanddwyn Island (Ynys Llanddwyn), named after the Celtic Saint Dwynwen. She retreated to this remote corner of Wales after a failed love match with an infatuated Welsh Prince. The shrine she established here attracted love sick pilgrims throughout the Middle Ages. Llanddwyn is not quite an island. It remains attached to the mainland at all but the highest tides. If the tide is right you can walk to the old chapel on the headland.
Llanddwyn Island’s position near the southern entrance to the Menai Strait resulted in it becoming important with the increase of the shipping of slate from the area. A beacon, Twr Bach (little tower) was built to provide guidance for ships heading to the Menai Straits. However, it couldn’t be easily seen by ships approaching from the west so Twr Mawr (big tower) was built on a higher, more westerly promontory making it more visible than Twr Bach.
In 1975 when Twr Mawr ceased operation, Twr Bach became the site for the installation of a new, modern navigation beacon. So now, Twr Bach is the working tower, while Twr Mawr is a striking and iconic landmark for Ynys Llanddwyn.
2019 has been designated the Year of Discovery by Cymru Wales, so what are you waiting for? Stunning & beautiful. Fantastic walks with splendid views. Fragrant forest. Exceptional beach. Historic buildings & ruins. Very relaxing & special place. Truly blissful. Llanddwyn Island, Newborough Forest and Newborough beach have it all – come and discover this treasure for yourself…….