Spotlight on Moelfre
Moelfre is a former fishing village on the North East coast of
Anglesey, with a long maritime history. It's also situated on the
Anglesey Coastal Path, so it's a great place for walking
enthusiasts to base themselves. Spectacular views can be seen
towards Penmon and Snowdonia and the Great Orme; I highly recommend
standing at the top of the hill just above the beach on a sunny
calm Saturday evening to soak up the view of the sea, with a few
yachts moored in the bay...when it starts getting dark the lights
start twinkling across the bay…..just lovely!! All in all, it's a
pretty, picturesque village with a great sandy beach and is popular
with people of all ages. I really miss living there!!
Beaches:
In the actual village itself there is a pebble beach, good
access to the coastal path from there, where you can find a further
3 pebbly beaches, heading towards Lligwy. Also in the other
direction towards Traeth Bychan there is Porth Yr Aber. Lligwy is a great sandy beach and there
are no dog restrictions here during the summer! This beach is very
popular in the warmer summer months and so it does get busy. It's
good for kite surfing when there's an easterly wind! Further away
along the coastal path, and a trek down to the beach (but well
worth it) is Traeth yr Ora, which translates into English as
'Golden Sands'. This is my favourite place of all time! There are
good fishing spots along the path too, 'Swnt' just off the rocks is
a good spot to catch some mackerel or even bass.
(Lligwy Beach)
Things to do:
There was a new lifeboat station constructed in 2015, but
there has been a lifeboat here since the 1830s. We have the popular
'lifeboat day' every August, which is a bit like a carnival and
well worth a visit! The lifeboats are out on display in the bay and
carry out an exercise, usually with the rescue helicopter. There
are craft stalls and the 'lifeboat queen' and her entourage, and
visiting carnival queens from the surrounding villages are in
attendance. There's even a disco for the children in the evening
down on the beach. There's just a fantastic atmosphere that you can
soak up and what's more, it raises money for the RNLI.
Seawatch Centre, in the village, houses an older lifeboat and
artefacts from the Royal Charter - a schooner that was on its way
to Liverpool having been collecting gold from Australia is among
them. It sank in an awful storm October 1859 and was laden with
gold. There's also the Statue of the coxswain Dic Evans, famous for
his bravery rescuing crew from two sinking ships - first the
Hindlea in 1959 then the Nafsiporos. This was unveiled by Prince
Charles in 2004!
Not far from Moelfre is an ancient village called Din
Lligwy, where you'll find the remains of a Roman village from
around the 4th Century. Also close by is the old Capel Lligwy, the
remains of a 12th Century chapel. Further up the road is Cromlech
Lligwy, a neolithic burial chamber with a huge cap stone. It was
excavated in 1909 and found to have two separate burial groups.
Where to eat:
Ann's
Pantry is a great little café with mouth-wateringly good
cakes, great tea and coffee and home cooked food made with local
produce - they even allow dogs in the garden area. They are open
all day in the summer, but it can quite busy there. They are also
open in the evening Thursday - Sunday and it's advisable to book.
They even have themed nights; tapas, French cuisine, Mexican
delights, etc. Attached is a sweet gift shop, too.
Kinmel Arms Pub is right on the beach,
with tables outside. Here you'll find great food, pleasantly big
portions and a mean homemade chicken curry!
Coastal Cafe is a traditional chippy
that's very popular with the tourists and the locals, so there are
often queues out the door in the summer. You can book a table and
take your own wine/beer, which is a nice option to have!
Caban is located on the beach car park,
and is open for ice cream and snacks.