Newborough

Newborough (Niwbwrch) earns its place on any serious Anglesey itinerary through sheer natural drama. The village is the gateway to Newborough Warren National Nature Reserve, one of the largest sand dune systems in Wales, and beyond it — via a mile of firm, wide beach — Llanddwyn Island. The island isn't really an island most of the time: a tidal peninsula jutting from the southwestern tip of Anglesey, accessible on foot except at the highest tides. But the moment you step onto its spine of volcanic rock with the sea on both sides and the lighthouse ahead, you feel entirely elsewhere.

The forest itself is an experience. Forestry Wales planted Scots and Corsican pine here in the 1940s to stabilise the dunes; the trees are now tall enough to form a cathedral canopy above the single-track road to the beach. Cycle trails weave through the plantation, and red squirrels — one of the few viable populations in Wales — live here year-round.

The beach at Newborough Warren is consistently among the top-rated in Wales. The views east toward the Snowdonia peaks are extraordinary on clear days; the sunsets looking west over the Irish Sea are the best on the island. The car park is managed by Natural Resources Wales and charges apply; arrive early in summer.

The village itself is small but not without interest. The Marram Grass restaurant, a mile from the centre in a converted farm building, has become one of Anglesey's destination kitchens — seasonal, garden-grown, quietly ambitious.