Families · North-west coast

Rock pools, terns and the last thatched cottage

Sandcastles at Church Bay, island life in a thatched cottage and seals off Cemlyn.

Dry days

Full day

North coast

Easter–September · Swtan and Wavecrest close for winter

weather

The plan

Morning: Porth Swtan (Church Bay)

Rock pools at low tide and sand for castles. Dogs are welcome all year.

Next door: Swtan

A whitewashed thatched cottage furnished as it was around 1900. Open Easter to autumn.

Lunch: The Lobster Pot

Local lobster and crab in Church Bay (Tuesday to Saturday; book ahead), or giant scones at Wavecrest Café (Easter to September).

Afternoon: Cemlyn

Walk the shingle ridge, watch the terns (May–July) and look out for seals.

Winter or wet-day swaps

Out of season, Swtan and Wavecrest are closed but the beach and Cemlyn are open all year. If it’s wet, Holyhead Maritime Museum is about 25 minutes away (Easter to October).

Stops on this plan

Beaches

Porth Swtan (Church Bay)

Small cove of sand, pebbles and rocks under steep cliffs on Anglesey’s north-west coast, with rock pools, clifftop coast path walks and a restored thatched cottage museum nearby.

Opening times, parking and directions

Attractions & museums

Swtan Heritage Museum

Wales’s last thatched cottage of its kind, at Church Bay: a step back into island life around 1900. Seasonal.

Opening times, parking and directions

Nature & wildlife

Cemlyn Nature Reserve (Esgair Cemlyn)

Shingle ridge and saltwater lagoon on Anglesey’s north coast, home to the only Sandwich tern nesting colony in Wales. Free, open at all times, best for terns from May to July.

Opening times, parking and directions

Attractions & museums

Holyhead Maritime Museum

Shipwrecks, lifeboats and wartime Holyhead in what is believed to be the oldest lifeboat house in Wales, by Newry Beach. Accompanied children go free.

Opening times, parking and directions

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