Anglesey is an island, and for most of history the only way across the Menai Strait (Afon Menai) was a dangerous boat crossing over treacherous tides — drovers once swam cattle across at low water. Two engineering landmarks changed that, and they remain the two ways onto the island today. Both are worth more than a glance from the car.
Telford’s Menai Suspension Bridge (1826)
The Menai Suspension Bridge was the masterpiece of Thomas Telford and, when it opened in 1826, the longest suspension bridge in the world — a genuine wonder of the age. It carried the new London-to-Holyhead mail road (the A5), slashing the journey to the Irish ferry. The Admiralty insisted the deck sit 100 feet above the water so tall ships could still pass beneath, which is why the great stone towers rise so high.
You can walk across it — there’s a footway, and crossing on foot, with the tide racing below and Eryri (Snowdonia) filling the view, is one of the best free things to do on the island. The bridge lands at Menai Bridge (Porthaethwy) on the Anglesey side, named for the structure itself.
The Britannia Bridge (1850, rebuilt 1972)
A mile to the west, the Britannia Bridge was Robert Stephenson’s answer to the railway age. Opened in 1850, it was a pioneering “tubular” bridge — trains ran inside enormous wrought-iron box girders, guarded at each end by four great limestone lions that still sit there today. In 1970 a fire destroyed the tubes, and the bridge was rebuilt as the two-tier crossing you cross now: rail below, the A55 dual carriageway above. It carries most of today’s traffic onto Anglesey — see how to get to Anglesey.
Where to see and photograph them
- The Belgian Promenade, a shoreline path in Menai Bridge built by First World War refugees, gives the best close-up views and walks of the suspension bridge.
- Church Island (Ynys Tysilio), reached by a short causeway from the promenade, frames both the bridge and the Strait — and has a tiny ancient church and a quiet churchyard with mountain views.
- Coed Cyrnol and the Anglesey-side lanes give elevated angles for photographs, especially in evening light.
Practical notes
- Walking the suspension bridge is free and open; mind the traffic and use the footway.
- The Britannia Bridge is a road and rail crossing — you can’t walk it, but the lions are visible from the Anglesey shore near Llanfairpwll.
- Combine with: the Llanfairpwll station sign and Bryn Celli Ddu, both minutes away at the island’s gateway.
Two centuries of engineering, two ways onto the island, and a walk across Telford’s masterpiece — the Menai bridges are the threshold of every Anglesey trip.