Anglesey

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For more information on Isle of Anglesey, visit Britannica.com.

Island county of north-west Wales, separated from the mainland by the Menai Straits. In 1974 it became the district of Ynys Môn in the county of Gwynedd, but was reconstituted as a county in 1996. Its location, together with the protective barrier of the Snowdonian mountains, made it a traditional centre of resistance toinvaders, Roman and Norman. But afterconquest by Edward I it was created a county of the principality of Wales in 1284, a status confirmed at the Act of Union of 1536.

An island and former county (until 1974) of north Wales, separated from the mainland by the Menai Strait or Abermenai. The Welsh name for the island is Môn; this is confused with Mona in some texts, a name usually referring to the Isle of Man. The Roman historian Tacitus (1st cent. AD) describes an attack on the island under Paulinus; in his account heroic Roman soldiers drove howling priests and black-clad, screaming women from bloodstained groves, presumably the site of human sacrifices (c. AD 59–62). These fugitives are now identified with druids. Great deposits of metalwork and other objects recovered from Llyn Cerrig Bach on Anglesey may be connected with the attempts of the insular druids to escape what seems to have been complete annihilation. In The Myvyrian Archaiology [sic] of Wales, compiled from medieval materials by Owen Jones (1801–7), Anglesey is associated with high birth, wise men, and relics. Since 1974 Anglesey has been part of the county of Gwynedd.

To many travelers, the Isle of Anglesey is just a blur from the train window as they speed from London to the western port of Holyhead, to catch a ferry to Ireland. Others stop off briefly for the novelty value of having a photo snapped beside a signpost for the world's longest town name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (known for convenience's sake as Llanfair PG). But Anglesey is well worth a longer stay, especially if you're interested in sports and the outdoors. Isolated from the Welsh mainland by the narrow Menai Strait, low-lying Anglesey offers a startling contrast to the mountainous drama of neighboring North Wales. Instead of plunging cascades, stark gray cliffs, and terraced slate-mining towns, it's a mellow rural backwater, a land of whitewashed cottages dotting flat farmland.

Kissed by the Gulf Stream, Anglesey has a surprisingly mild climate, and as soon as you cross the famous 19th-century cast-iron suspension bridge across the Menai Strait—a groundbreaking engineering feat in its day—you may well feel inspired to get out of the car and stretch your legs. Nearly all of Anglesey's remarkably unspoiled coastline has been designated a national Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; it's a snap to pick up any section of the 201km (125-mile) Anglesey Coastal Path, which circles nearly the entire island, passing seaside cliffs where puffins nest and a proliferation of wide flat golden beaches (among the best are Trearddur Bay, Porthdafarch, Benllech, Llandona, and Llanddwyn).

Gone are the strenuous Methodist dictates of North Wales; on Anglesey, relaxing and enjoying yourself are positively encouraged. The town of Beaumaris, just north of the Menai Strait, is a popular yachting center, with an almost Mediterranean atmosphere, while surfers gravitate to the beaches around Rhosneigr on the southern coast. East of Rhosneigr, the 750-hectare (1,853-acre) Newborough Forest Preserve is a great place for hiking through dusky stands of Corsican pines, planted to protect the wide beaches and coastal dunes of adjacent Llanddwyn Island; nearby Maltraeth Marsh is a notable wetland site for bird-watching.

Golf and tennis are played year-round—buy an Isle of Anglesey Golf Pass (☎ 44/845/450-5885,; and you can try out five of the island's nine excellent golf courses. Pony trekking is perennially popular, with riding stables in Dwyran, Trearddur Bay, and Llanddona, and several bridleways around the countryside. The island also makes the most of its flat topography by offering four signposted cycling routes along back lanes, taking in ruined medieval churches, Roman relics, and Neolithic burial chambers, as well as shops, villages, and nature preserves.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - Anglesey

Deutsch (German)
n. - Anglesey

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אנגליסיי‬

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