Wednesday 29 July 2009

Anglesey Attractions, Things to do on Anglesey

By David Phillips

Put some top Anglesey attractions on your checklist of things to do when you are planning your trip to this beautiful island in North Wales. Now that you've chosen your family's self-catering vacation cottage or caravan park base you can get down to discovering some of the exciting locations to visit. Anglesey is like a treasure trove of history and culture and you have to ease open the lid and see what's inside.

Near Holyhead on Holy Island is South Stack and its iconic Trinity House lighthouse perched on a rocky outcrop. You will find the views from this spot truly breathtaking, but be warned there are 400 steps to the bottom of the cliff and then you need to cross a bridge. But it's worth it with magical sea views over to Ireland and the Welsh coast, and get your binoculars to watch sea birds on the cliffs and learn about the rich 200 year history of the lighthouse.

The Oriel in Llangefni is a recently refurbished Arts Museum hosting up to around eighteen temporary exhibitions each year. A permanent gallery houses the Tunnicliffe Collection, amazing sketches of island birds and other fauna by this renowned naturalistic painter who worked in watercolours, oils and etching. There is also a gallery for the paintings of Kyffin Williams, a landscape painter as well a gallery which sweeps up the islands history from the Stone Age era.

The oldest working windmill in Wales, Llynnon Mill, is near the village of Llanddeusant, where you can buy some wholemeal flour freshly ground as the sails turn. Near the Windmill are some old mill stones as well as the ruins of an old bakery which can be reached through small woodland. This Anglesey attraction has a small cafe and shops and you can also visit two roundhouses which authentically reproduce living conditions 3,000 years ago.

The Gaol at Beaumaris designed by Joseph Hansom was built in 1829 and of all the wonderful Anglesey attractions, it must be among the gloomiest though no less interesting. closed in 1878 as a gaol, it is now a museum dedicated to showing what life was like as a Victorian prisoner, where the last execution was in 1872. Feel what it must have been like in the dark punishment cell, and see the treadmill used to pump water to the top floor of the prison.

Of all the Anglesey attractions with links to the sea, Moelfre Seawatch stands up there among the most significant. Moelfre is a quiet seaside village, which could pass as a Mediterranean fishing harbour, but living in the shadow of the Royal Charter shipping tragedy of 1859. See a modern lifeboat in action, learn about the heroism of local volunteers through the ages, including Coxswain Dic Evans, awarded two gold medals for his courage.

Beaumaris Courthouse was built in 1614 and here you have the chance to walk around the old rectangular Court room, stand in the dock and visit the grand jury room. Discover where the prisoners were kept while they waited for the trial and learn about some of the infamous prisoners on Anglesey. In 1742 the trial was held of notorious robbers accused of stealing from ships wrecked in a violent storm off Rhosneigr on the south west coast.

One thing seems certain, you will not be short of places of interest and chances to see and enjoy the past as well as the present of this island. In some way Anglesey manages to offer a mixture of experience which excites as well as informs and this will be appreciated by the discerning visitor. To be sure you will be find it hard not to reflect positively on these Anglesey attractions.

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