I have seen much of Wales, but the one bit eluding me until recently was the Isle of Anglesey or ‘Ynys Mon’
With an area of 276 square-miles, it is the largest Welsh island, often referred to as ‘Mam Cymru’ (Mother of Wales), for its sacred past and its fertile land’s ability to feed Welsh mouths. I was in awe, a reverence dating to childhood and tales of Welsh druids in magical groves wiped out by Romans in AD 60. It is a place apart, separate from the rest of Wales. ‘Ynys Mon’ possesses some of Wales’s most remote and ancient countryside, with its highest concentration of prehistoric sites.
We toured ‘Ynys Mon’ on a sunny day. We crossed the Menai Strait on the longer of two bridges, the Brittania. Built by Robert Stephenson in 1850, it was replaced, following a fire in 1970, the result the modern two-tier affair, carrying road and rail. Once over, we turned for Beaumaris, stopping at a viewpoint to admire the handiwork of 19th and 20th Century engineers.
The Britannia peeped over a wooded slope and the Menai, the first modern suspension bridge, completed by Telford in 1826, stood out handsomely one mile north east.
Beaumaris’s Castle was taken by Owain Glyndwr, also seeing action during the English Civil War. The castle was built by Edward I towards the end of the 13th Century, his response to the Welsh taking Caernarfon a few years before. Today Beaumaris is peaceful, acting as a yachting centre, with boats moored in the bay or off Gallows Point; the town gallows were here.
Beaumaris Castle
When I visit a seaside town I head for the pier. Beaumaris’s was modest, but worthy, with its ‘Pier Kiosk’, mackerel fishing trips and a lifeboat station. The skies hadn’t cleared and the hills across the water were lost in morning mist.
Beaumaris is sweet, with picturesque, narrow streets. The castle is its most imposing building, but there is more to admire, including manifold views of the water, for Beaumaris sits on a small point.
Next we sought out the place with the longest railway station name in Britain, ‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch’. This translates as, ‘St Mary’s Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio near the Red Cave.’ A place of such repute attracts people hence the shopping complex across from the station, which seemed almost forgotten. We were the only people there, but that suited us. The story goes that locals, spotting a way of bringing in tourists, invented the longwinded name in the 19th Century. Judging by the coach parties, they were spot-on, although most people use the manageable ‘Llanfair PG’ today.
The longest station name in the UK
As National Trust members we like to visit a property whilst away and there was one handily placed. ‘Plas Newydd’ had the advantage of overlooking the Strait. It was built for Henry William Paget, first marquis of Anglesey and principal commander of allied cavalry at Waterloo, who lost a leg in the battle. His wooden version is displayed here in a small museum.
The house was a gem, grey, gothic windows, and creepers taking away any harshness with a colour splash. The path alongside the Strait afforded views of the bridge we’d driven over and on a clear day you see Snowdonia. The grounds are eclectic with Australasian arboretum and Italianate summer terrace. I liked the harbour and slipway; it gave it more of a lived-in feel, especially with a party of youngsters enjoying afternoon sun and water.
Plas Newydd
Finally, we took the A55 to Holyhead, ‘Ynys Mon’s’ largest town. Here is the contrast, a European-class motorway cutting across the island, towards Holyhead, location of an international ferry port. This sits incongruously with remoteness and prehistory, but we had to get to South Stack. This was on my list of ’50 things to do before I expire’.
We were feeling thirsty and hungry, so were overjoyed to find a café serving tea and cake. There is an RSPB seabird centre here, from where you can see choughs, fulmars, kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, gulls and even puffins. We walked over to the view of South Stack and its lighthouse dating from 1809, balanced on an offshore rock, reached down 400 steps. We sat on a seat for a while, contemplating.
Fishing trips from the pier at Beaumaris
The water was swimming pool colour and rock faces majestic; the kind of scene persuading one to take up art on the spot. There was the lighthouse perched on the end of the ‘Stack’. It was a perfect symbiosis of nature and man’s creation, all harmonised, as if planned.
As coastlines go, ‘Ynys Mon’ had been splendid. Bridges over the Menai, Beaumaris’s Castle, stately home with harbour; we had seen much to admire. The best was last though; majestic South Stack.
View of the Menai Strait from Beaumaris
Anglesey appears remote and that is true, but it also has good road and rail links. A train from ‘Llanfair PG’ has you in Chester in less than an hour and a quarter. The best of everything then; remote, yet accessible. It’s no wonder the Welsh called it ‘Mam Cymru’, Mother of Wales.
Words & Pictures: Stephen Roberts
Image: Beaumaris Castle, Llywelyn2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source
