Anglesey is made for cycling. It’s one of the flattest parts of Wales, its lanes are quiet, and the coast is never far away — which makes it a gentler proposition than the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) just across the water. Whether you want a traffic-free family pootle or a full day in the saddle, here’s where to ride.
Traffic-free and family-friendly
Newborough Forest
The best easy riding on the island. Newborough Forest (Coed Niwbwrch) has a network of flat, well-surfaced forest tracks through the pines, leading down to the beach and the edge of Llanddwyn. It’s sheltered, largely traffic-free, and ideal for families and beginners — keep an eye out for red squirrels as you go.
Breakwater Country Park, Holyhead
The trails around Breakwater Country Park on Holy Island give easy, scenic riding on old quarry tracks, with the option to ride out along Britain’s longest breakwater.
Quiet-lane loops
Anglesey’s real cycling pleasure is its empty back lanes. A classic outing links the eastern villages — Beaumaris, Penmon, and Llangoed — on rolling lanes with constant views across the Menai Strait to the mountains. In the south-west, the lanes around Aberffraw, Rhosneigr, and Newborough are flat and gloriously quiet, threading dunes, estuaries, and old churches.
The big one: circumnavigating Anglesey
For serious riders, looping the island is the goal. Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 8 (Lôn Las Cymru) crosses Anglesey, and the wider quiet-lane network lets you build a coast-hugging loop of 60–100 miles depending on how closely you follow the shoreline. It’s not waymarked as a single circuit, so plan your route, but the lack of hills means the distance is more achievable here than almost anywhere else in Wales. Spread over two days, it makes a fine cycling weekend.
Mountain biking
Anglesey isn’t a downhill destination — for that, head to the trail centres in Eryri. But the forest tracks and bridleways at Newborough and Pentraeth, and the rougher coastal paths, give satisfying off-road riding without big climbs.
Practical notes
- Bike hire: several outfits around the island and in Menai Bridge and Holyhead hire bikes and e-bikes; book ahead in summer.
- Getting here with a bike: trains on the North Wales coast line carry bikes (reserve a space) and stop at Llanfairpwll, Bodorgan, Rhosneigr, Ty Croes, Valley, and Holyhead — see Anglesey without a car.
- Lanes are narrow. Many have high hedges and blind bends; ride defensively and expect tractors and the occasional fast local.
- Wind, not hills, is the challenge. The island is exposed — plan to ride into the wind on the way out so it’s behind you coming home.
Flat lanes, forest tracks, and sea views in every direction — Anglesey is one of the most welcoming places to cycle in Wales.