Beaumaris (Biwmares) is the kind of town that earns every superlative thrown at it, yet somehow stays unpretentious. Its castle — the last and most technically refined of Edward I's Welsh fortresses — sits at the water's edge like a textbook illustration of concentric design, surrounded by a still moat that mirrors the sky. Walk the walls at dusk and the towers of Snowdonia float above the mainland shore in the fading light.
Beyond the castle, Beaumaris is a genuinely liveable Georgian town built for prosperity and leisure. The seafront promenade is lined with painted terraces; the high street holds independent shops, a couple of excellent delis, and the Olde Bull's Head, one of the most characterful coaching inns in North Wales. The Menai Strait runs close here, and in summer the waterfront fills with sailing boats and pleasure craft.
The town is a natural base for exploring eastern Anglesey. Penmon Priory is a 20-minute drive; the Coastal Path passes through and offers spectacular walking north and south. The small pier is still used by boat operators running wildlife trips around Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol) — grey seals guaranteed, guillemots and razorbills likely, dolphins possible.
Beaumaris repays a slow visit. The streets are compact enough to walk in an hour but interesting enough to fill a day. Come for the castle, stay for the architecture, linger for the food and the light on the Strait.
Things to do near Beaumaris
Adventure Puffin Island Boat Trips
Seacoast Safaris runs RIB and rigid inflatable boat trips from Beaumaris Pier around Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol), a small uninhabited island at Anglesey's eastern tip that is home to cormorants, shags, guillemots, razorbills, and grey seals hauled out on the rocks.
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Adventure Sea Kayaking from Beaumaris
Celtic Paddlers and several other operators offer guided sea kayak sessions on the Menai Straits, one of the most beautiful stretches of sheltered tidal water in Wales, with views of Snowdonia rising above the treeline on the opposite shore.
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Heritage Beaumaris Castle
The last and most technically accomplished of Edward I's Iron Ring of castles, Beaumaris was begun in 1295 and — despite never being fully completed — is considered the finest example of concentric castle design in Britain.
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Heritage Penmon Priory & Dovecote
At the far eastern tip of Anglesey, Penmon Priory is a remarkably intact complex of Norman and Early Christian religious buildings — a 12th-century church, the remains of a priory, and one of the finest medieval dovecotes in Wales, built around 1600 to house 1,000 pigeons.
Book →Penmon Point Coastal Walk
The coastal walk from Penmon Priory to Black Point lighthouse and back is four miles of easy path along the northeast tip of Anglesey, with Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol) lying just 500 metres offshore throughout and grey seals hauled out on the lower rocks year-round.
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Family Pili Palas Nature World
A tropical butterfly house and nature world near Menai Bridge, Pili Palas (Welsh for 'butterfly') houses free-flying exotic butterflies, parakeets, giant tortoises, and a collection of snakes, lizards, and insects in heated glasshouses that stay open year-round.
See more →Where to eat near Beaumaris
£ Café Pilot House Café, Beaumaris
A light-filled café on the Beaumaris seafront with views across the Menai Straits to the Caernarfon shore — a far better stop than the tourist cafés clustered around the castle entrance five minutes' walk away.
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£ Ice Cream Red Boat Ice Cream, Beaumaris
A Beaumaris institution scooping hand-made ice cream from a kiosk on the pier that draws queues past the jetty most summer afternoons.
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££ Welsh Blas, Beaumaris
A contemporary Welsh restaurant on Church Street in Beaumaris, built around Anglesey and Welsh produce in a relaxed room that feels more like a local's secret than a tourist destination.
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£ Café The Boathouse, Beaumaris
A converted boathouse café on the Beaumaris waterfront perched right above the tidal foreshore, with floor-to-ceiling windows looking across the Menai Strait to Caernarfon and the Snowdonia peaks.
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£££ British Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn, Beaumaris
A coaching inn with origins in 1472 on Castle Street in Beaumaris, where Charles Dickens and Samuel Johnson both stayed — one of the most historically significant pubs in North Wales.
See more →Sosban and the Old Butchers, Menai Bridge
One of Wales' most celebrated restaurants, Sosban and the Old Butchers occupies a converted butcher's shop in Menai Bridge and holds a Michelin star it makes no concessions to maintain.
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££ Pub The Pilot Boat, Beaumaris
A traditional harbour pub on Beaumaris seafront with views through the windows and from the terrace across the Menai Strait to Caernarfon and the Snowdonia hills beyond.
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£ Pub Beaumaris Inn
A traditional town local on Castle Street in the heart of Beaumaris, the kind of pub that has fed and watered locals and castle visitors for generations without ever trying to be anything it isn't.
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££ Pub The Liverpool Arms, Beaumaris
A lively waterfront pub on Beaumaris seafront popular with sailors, day-trippers, and locals — the terrace above the tidal foreshore is arguably the finest outdoor drinking spot in eastern Anglesey when the mooring lights are catching the Strait at dusk.
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£ Pub The Olde Sailors, Beaumaris
A character pub tucked behind the seafront in Beaumaris, full of maritime memorabilia, low beams, and the kind of atmosphere that makes midday drinks stretch into the afternoon without apology.
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£ Café Cŵch, Beaumaris
A small, warm coffee shop on the Beaumaris high street that takes its single-origin espresso seriously without taking itself too seriously — good filter options, a relaxed atmosphere, and the kind of daily baking that makes an hour with the papers feel earned.
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