Anglesey has a wide range of attractions including a lovely coastal walk from Cemaes Bay, our favourite castle at Beaumaris and a neolithic burial site.
This was a great circular walk, with a lot of up and down cliff trail so quite strenuous.1
Starting at Cemaes Bay we headed north through countryside then turned west to Porth Llanlleiana.
Here there is an old abandoned clay works, looking quite atmospheric in its small bay between headlands. Clay dug out from the hillside was transported from the small harbour in the nearby cove for the manufacture of porcelain.
Porth Padrig is a lovely spot, a wide bay with an impressive monolithic rock, the final bay on the coastal stretch before reaching Cemaes Bay.
There was a large colony of nesting terns here, mostly Sandwich but also Arctic and Common terns. A warden was very informative about there habits and numbers. At the height of the breeding season this year there were around 7,000 terns - 4,000 adults and 3,000 chicks - a good breeding season the warden said.
We walked along the shingle ridge, which was very hard going, and then back to the car along country lanes.
Beaumaris Castle, dating from 1295 though never completed, is very impressive with a wide moat, inner and outer walls and corridors within walls - it was our favourite of all the castles we visited.
The last of many castles built by Edward 1st it was designed by his master mason, James of St George.
It stands on flat marshy ground, hence the name which means "beautiful marsh". The space between the inner and outer walls was overlooked by tall towers in the inner wall with arrow slits, perfect for firing on intruders.
With the deep moat, walls up to 4.8m thick, many arrow slits and "murder holes" the castle was designed for defence, but also had luxurious suites.
Murder holes are holes in masonry from which objects could be hurled down onto invaders. A popular myth has it that boiling oil was poured from the murder holes.
The castle last saw action during the English Civil War. It was a Royalist stronghold but eventually surrendered to parliamentary forces in 1646.
A beautifully preserved chambered tomb 4,000 years old.
The tomb was surrounded by a henge - a ditch and stone circle - which was the first stage of this site to be built, followed by the passage tomb.
A grass mound covers a passage tomb, the entrance leading through a tunnel to a chamber with a vertical space between large stones to the outside. At midsummer when the sun rises it shines directly through the slit illuminating the chamber and tunnel.
This National Trust property was once the home of the Marquess of Anglesey, Wellington's head of cavalry.
The grounds are home to red squirrels but we didn't see any on our walk through the magnificent stands of trees before the house opened.
The house is in a wonderful setting, overlooking the Menai Strait.The rooms are full of paintings and there are several ornate bedrooms and Victorian bathrooms.
The best thing there, in our opinion, is the wonderful Rex Whistler mural with many recognisable London landmarks and a broken Windsor Castle, symbolising the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.
The Marquess of Anglesey, at the time the Earl of Uxbridge, lost a leg a Waterloo. One of his replacement wooden legs is kept here in a glass case. The episode sparked a famous exchange between Anglesey: "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" and Wellington: "By God, sir, so you have!".
Returning to the car we detoured to visit a couple of dolmens in the grounds, actually on the cricket pitch, which is now a meadow, though the cricket pavilion is intact.
On the way back from Plas Newydd we stopped at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch to post cards.
More commonly known as Lllanfair PG, the name means "St Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio close to the red cave" though it is probably a 19th century invention to attract tourists.
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