Best Places to Visit in Anglesey
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in Anglesey are Glan Faenol, Traeth Penial, Penmon Point, South Stack Lighthouse, Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens and Traeth Coch Pentraeth.
Anglesey wraps a low, green island in a coastline of cliffs, lighthouses and huge tidal sands, and its finest places take in all of it. The great sight is South Stack Lighthouse, on its rock off Holy Island below cliffs loud with seabirds, reached down four hundred steps and a bridge.
Across the island, Penmon Point looks out to Puffin Island past its striped Trwyn Du lighthouse, and the vast flats of Red Wharf Bay uncover for miles at low tide near Pentraeth. For quieter corners, the restored Regency gardens of Plas Cadnant hide a waterfall gorge near Menai Bridge, the woodland and shore of Glan Faenol run along the Menai Strait near Bangor, and the little cove of Traeth Penial sits undeveloped on the west coast.
Some are well-known set pieces, others walks and beaches known mostly to locals, and all show a different side of the island. Here are six places to visit across Anglesey.
Glan Faenol
Photo: Mat Fascione via Geograph.org.uk
Glan Faenol is a stretch of woodland and old parkland on the shore of the Menai Strait near Bangor, part of the former Vaynol estate and now looked after by the National Trust. A waymarked walk of about a mile and a half runs through the trees and along the shore, with a bird hide and views across the water to Plas Newydd and the hills of Snowdonia.
Old estate buildings and a long boundary wall survive on the ground. It is a quiet, free place to walk, open from dawn to dusk.
Traeth Penial
Photo: Jeff Buck via Geograph.org.uk
Traeth Penial lies on the west coast of Anglesey, in the community of Llanfwrog near Llanfachraeth. It is one of a string of small, undeveloped coves along this stretch, sitting close to Porth Trwyn and Porth Trefadog.
There are no facilities, and it is reached on foot from the Anglesey coastal path. It is a quiet spot for those who like an empty shore away from the busier beaches.
Penmon Point
Photo: cat jackson via Geograph.org.uk
Penmon Point, also called Black Point, is a rocky headland at the south-eastern tip of Anglesey, looking out to the little humped island of Puffin Island across a narrow sound. Just offshore stands the Trwyn Du lighthouse, a white tower with black bands built in the 1830s after a nearby shipwreck, with a bell that sounds over the water.
A private toll road leads down to a car park, and there is a small cafe by the shore. It is a place for wide views across the Menai Strait to the Great Orme and Snowdonia, and for watching seabirds and the sea.
South Stack Lighthouse
Photo: Chris Gunns via Geograph.org.uk
South Stack Lighthouse Over four hundred steps drop from the Anglesey cliffs to a bridge, and across the gap, on its own small rock off Holy Island, the white tower stands waiting. Its builders raised it in 1809 to steer ships through the Irish Sea, and the light, now automatic, still turns, with tours run in season.
The sea cliffs all around form an RSPB reserve, loud with nesting guillemots, razorbills, puffins and choughs, best watched from the clifftop tower. It ranks among the finest sights on the whole Anglesey coast, though the long climb back up will remind your legs of the fact.
Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens
Photo: Richard Hoare via Geograph.org.uk
Plas Cadnant is a set of restored Regency gardens near Menai Bridge, laid out in the early nineteenth century and brought back to life over recent decades after long neglect. Visitors walk a curving walled garden with a pool, a wooded valley garden where the little River Cadnant runs through a rocky gorge in a series of waterfalls, and woodland with the ruin of an old folly.
A large collection of hydrangeas grows here, and there is a tea room and plant sales. The valley was badly flooded in a storm in 2015 and has since been rebuilt.
Traeth Coch Pentraeth
Photo: Eric Jones via Geograph.org.uk
Traeth Coch, known in English as Red Wharf Bay, is a vast tidal bay on the east coast of Anglesey, near the village of Pentraeth, where some ten square miles of sand are uncovered at low tide. The wide flats draw walkers and birdwatchers, alive with oystercatchers, curlews and, in winter, geese, and cockles are still gathered here.
The incoming tide sweeps in fast over the near-flat sand, so it is a place to keep an eye on the water. Two pubs sit on the shore, and the coast path runs around the bay toward Benllech and Penmon.
FAQs
What is the best place to visit on Anglesey?
South Stack Lighthouse, on a small rocky island off the western tip of Holy Island, is one of the island's great sights, reached down over four hundred steps and a bridge. Built in 1809, the tower can be toured in season, and the surrounding cliffs form an RSPB reserve loud with nesting guillemots, razorbills, puffins and choughs.
Which Anglesey beach is best for a walk?
Red Wharf Bay, or Traeth Coch, near Pentraeth uncovers some ten square miles of sand at low tide, a vast flat popular with walkers and birdwatchers, with two pubs on the shore. The tide sweeps in fast over the near-level sand, though, so it is a place to keep an eye on the water.
What can you see at Plas Cadnant on Anglesey?
Plas Cadnant, near Menai Bridge, is a set of restored Regency gardens with a walled garden and pool, a wooded valley where the River Cadnant runs through a rocky gorge in waterfalls, and a large collection of hydrangeas, along with a tea room. It was badly flooded in 2015 and has since been rebuilt.
Conclusion
Anglesey rewards anyone who works around its coast, from well-known lighthouse to quiet cove. South Stack is the great set piece, its tower on a rock below seabird cliffs off Holy Island, while Penmon Point looks across to Puffin Island past its striped light.
The tidal sands of Red Wharf Bay run for miles near Pentraeth, and the little beach of Traeth Penial sits undeveloped on the west coast. Inland and along the strait, the restored gardens of Plas Cadnant hide their waterfall gorge near Menai Bridge, and the woods of Glan Faenol run beside the water near Bangor.
Some are grand sights and some are quiet walks, but all show the island's mix of cliff, shore and green. These are the places to seek out across Anglesey.
