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Around the rocky shore at Moelfre

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Walk directions

From the car park walk down to meet the main road (A5108) and turn left. Follow the main road down to the shore as it winds behind the bay before swinging left. Leave the road at that point for a shoreline path on the right.

Pass the Seawatch Centre and the lifeboat station and ignore the footpath signs pointing inland. Instead follow a clear coast path that looks across to the island of Ynys Moelfre. Hug the coast, going through a couple of kissing gates. The path crosses a small caravan site, goes through another kissing gate and climbs past a short side path to the Royal Charter memorial.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Well-defined coastal and field paths, some stiles

Landscape - Sea cliffs and coastal pasture

Dog friendliness - Can be off their lead on the coastal path

Parking - Two car parks at entrance to Moelfre village

Toilets en route - In the car park

Walks in Isle of Anglesey Dog-friendly walks in Isle of Anglesey

About the walk

Being in Moelfre is rather like being in Cornwall. The pebble beach, the whitewashed cottages looking down from the clifftops, small boats in a tiny harbour, and there’s that same bracing quality of the wave-wafted air. As you stroll along the rocky coastline above the low cliffs, past the two... lifeboat stations and the Seawatch Centre, all thoughts are on ships and the ocean. If it’s sunny and the breeze is only slight, everything appears so picturesque and peaceful – but as you read the inscriptions on the Royal Charter memorial, you get a different story. A ship in distress The monument remembers the night of 26 October 1859. A proud British cutter, the Royal Charter, was on the last stretch of its long homeward journey from Hobson’s Bay in Melbourne to Liverpool. Sailing past Ireland there had not been a hint of wind, but as night fell a savage storm ensued. Captain Taylor signalled for a pilot, but none would come out on such a night. In deep trouble, he set anchor, but at 1.30am the chain parted. At daybreak two local people spotted the wreck being pounded against the rocks. To their horror they saw a man shimmy down a rope from the decks and into the furious sea. He had volunteered to try to swim with a hawser for shore, the only means to secure the ship and save the lives of the crew and passengers. Twice he failed, but Joseph Rogers, an able seaman from Malta, finally made it and lashed the ship to a rock. The gallant seaman and the men of Moelfre made a human chain into the breakers. They managed to rescue 18 passengers, 5 riggers and 1 crew, but on that day 452 people, including all the officers and 28 men from Moelfre, lost their lives. The ship also carried gold and, though most of it was recovered, some must still be buried among the barnacles and tangled seaweed in that watery graveyard you see below. An ancient village On the way back to Moelfre you leave the sea and follow country lanes through peaceful pastures. Through the hedges you’ll spot a roofless 12th-century chapel, which you pass en route to Din Lligwy, an ancient village hidden in the woods. This is a wonderfully preserved Celtic settlement dating back to the last years of the Roman Empire in the 4th century ad. In a field further down the lane are the remains of a neolithic burial chamber. The Lligwy tomb has a massive capstone weighing 25 tons. The excavation in 1909 revealed the remains of 15 to 30 people, and Beaker and grooved ware pottery.

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About the area

Some of the oldest rocks in Britain form the 125-mile coastline of the 85 square mile Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which includes Holy Island with its busy port of Holyhead, the terminus for the Dublin ferry. The terrain inland is mainly a fertile plateau worn flat by the action of the sea, with low ridges and shallow valleys, while the sheer limestone cliffs of the east coast and on the north coast at Holyhead Mountain represent some of the most spectacular sea cliffs in Britain.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

5 miles (8kms)

Ascent:

541ft (165m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Around the rocky shore at Moelfre

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

5 miles (8kms)

Ascent:

541ft (165m)

Walk directions

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Swinging left into Porth Forllwyd, this section of the path ends beside a cottage. Follow a track to a gate, then turn right along a fenced path into a field. Keep ahead to rejoin the coastal path, which turns in above the large bay of Traeth Lligwy.

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On reaching the beach car park, turn left along the narrow lane before going straight ahead at the next crossroads.

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Take the next path on the right, signposted to Din Lligwy ancient village. First, turn half right across the field to see the old chapel. Then bear left across two fields and into a wood concealing Din Lligwy. Return to the lane and turn right along it.

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Leave after 50yds (46m) over a stile on the left. Follow the dog-legging boundary right to a stile, over which turn left, walking downfield to emerge by roadside quarries.

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Follow the road right to the edge of the village and go left on a track opposite the corner of a football pitch. Around the first bend, swing left through a traffic barrier, keeping right at a fork to walk through the caravan site again.

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Follow the shoreline path back to the start.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Well-defined coastal and field paths, some stiles

Landscape - Sea cliffs and coastal pasture

Dog friendliness - Can be off their lead on the coastal path

Parking - Two car parks at entrance to Moelfre village

Toilets en route - In the car park

Walks in Isle of Anglesey Dog-friendly walks in Isle of Anglesey

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

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Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

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About the area

Isle of Anglesey

Around the rocky shore at Moelfre

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Around the rocky shore at Moelfre

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