SANDY BEACH
A Perfect Family Beach
With Ice-Cream

"Sandy Beach. Oh! So wonderful!"

Let me be perfectly straight with you. This is yet another another glorious Anglesey beach.

Look at the picture above with a father and daughter having a bike lesson along the beach

This really sums up the feeling of this very lovely beach.

It really is an excellent family beach with plenty of space and long golden sand.

Once again on Anglesey you'll find a Big Blue Sea suspended below a MASSIVE Blue Sky.

SANDY BEACH - PORTH TYWYN MAWR

This lovely beach really does live up to its name and is a far better beach than Penrhyn Beach about a half mile to the south along the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path.

It is a very, VERY pleasant beach, ideal for family fun and - most important of all - you have ice-cream close at hand in the shop in the beautiful caravan park right on the beach.

This most definitiely adds to the overall perfection of Sandy Beach.

Apart from the caravan park, this delightfully long beach is isolated and manifests a wonderfully friendly atmosphere.

Whether you are there during the day or just enjoying yet another beautiful Anglesey sunsets, "It feels just right"

It is classically beautiful and clearly much loved.

The sea is great for swimming and the opportunities for building sandcastles are plentiful in the delightfully soft, golden sand.

At low-tide it remains sandy and clean and is designated as a very clean beach indeed.

LOCAL FACILITIES

Thankfully, the pretty limited parking is an asset to Sandy Beach, unless you are staying in the caravan park.

I think this is called a limiting factor in Biology.

As this stunningly beautiful proper beach is isolated you will have to travel a mile or two for big groceries and a retaurant or pub meal.

The shop is open to the public for papers and pop - the usual stuff you forget.

It's small but sells basic foodstuffs, ice-cream, lollies pop and all of your beach fun paraphernalia.

Importantly, the shop is very welcoming and set-up for visitors.

I enjoyed a lovely conversation with sweet lady who served me with two raspberry Soleros last weekend.

You can either eat and shop in VALLEY (a handful of miles south) or enjoy the lovely facilities in the Sandy Beach and Cemaes Bay areas.

Please CLICK HERE for facilities on the West Coast of Anglesey.

A MUM'S OPINION
 

My Mum loved this beach very much when I took her there, or Porth Tywyn Mawr, as we prefer to call it.

We were there in late August and the horizon was above us with large ships balanced on the horizon below a purple and orange sky.

A small sailing dingy was coming to shore while people milled around prior to settling down for the evening.

This really is a lovely family sandy beach that will suit anyone who wants a classic British beach day.

No irritating bingo callers and one-armed bandits in the background.

"Call her old fashioned, but that's how my Mum likes it."

CARAVAN AND CHALET PARK

Visiting the beach in June 2009, we wondered through the caravan park.

In the first instance, it is really well set out right above the beach, with excellent facilities.

It was late afternoon and people were generally schmoozing and the kids milling aorund each other.

A small baby seemed to be taking his first steps on the beach and we couldn't help but smile.

I don't think I've ever seen two Porsches in a caravan park before. That means that other people think that Sandy Beach is as special as I think it is.

Quite clearly, some of them have got money, too.

,

BEACH SAFETY WARNING!

On the entrance to the beach off the road you will notice a STENA FERRIES warning sign.

When ferries enter Holyhead Harbour they have been known to generate waves that can cause unexpectedly high waves on all the beaches along this coastline. Even as far as Church Bay to the north.

KEEP AN EYE OPEN IF YOUR KIDS ARE SPLASHING ABOUT.

FISHERMAN! YOU ALSO KEEP ON YOUR GUARD.

THERE HAVE BEEN LOSSES OF LIFE OFF THE LEDGES.

SAILING AND WATER SPORTS

Essentially this is a wide flat beach with only one pretty obvious ugly lump of rock that people manage to negotiate with skill and flair(?) - on the whole.

Windsurfing & Kite Surfing:

It's a beach suited for weekend, gentle sailing, windsurfing and kite-surfing.

I've not seen or heard of good surfing hereabouts.

For "More Excitement Than You Can Shake Seaweed At" either head South or East - depending on the wind direction over the past few days.

It doesn't take long for the surf on Anglesey to crank up to a good and proper standard of Gnarliness!

If it's blowing a south westerly TREARDDUR BAY is good and RHOSNEIGR can be world competition standard. 

If it's been blowing a North Easterly for a couple of days then head for LLIGWY BEACH.

Not everybody wants to be a show-off or a 'World Champion in Waiting', we just want Surfing without Sneering.

Holyhead is in the way of most of the big winds, so Sandy Beach is good enough for those who just want to be good enough.

Sundry Tubs and Miscellaneous Craft:

The cavorting craft and others strewn on the beach means that this beach is generally regarded as suitable for marine activity.

Sailboats, motor boats and jet-skis predominate.

ALSO, you can't miss the locked barrier gate to the beach.

This means that launching your tub requires the kind assistance of the caravan park.

This is a public beach, so I'm not sure if this regulation is a safety measure by the caravan park or whether they are supporting the Marine Services of the Isle of Anglesey County Council.

Nonetheless, if you want to launch off this beach then you'll have to 'pop-to-the-shop' to let them know.

You'll notice a sign just below the shop indicating that powerboats can only be launched if you have the correct boat handling qualifications.

ANGLESEY BOAT LAUNCHING AND REGISTRATION
 

The County Council requires you to register powerboats over a certain horsepower and also lists the required qualifications.

Please CLICK HERE for all the above information and about launching fees on other Anglesey beaches and slipways.

ISLE OF ANGLESEY COASTAL PATH

As I just mentioned, the Isle of Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path passes this way and joins together a number of excellent beaches, each with its own individual character.

The Coastal Path reaches each beach by a generally low cliff line over a handful of miles.

From Sandy Beach these are: Trefadog Beach then Porth Trwyn Beach and then, finally, CHURCH BAY - (Porth Swtan), which is the most northerly of the sandy beaches on the west coast of Anglesey.

The walk along this particular stretch of the Anglesey Coastal Path is gentle and weaves along footpath and beach in turn.

It is with good cause that I have waxed lyrically elsewhere, this Coastal Path is a fabulous gem.

Menter Mon and Anglesey County Council really can't be congratulated enough for their vision, determination and achievement.

Making a Move

If I were to start from anywhere along this coast then it would be from Sandy Beach.

I'd park here - space permitting - and just head north.

The cliffs gradually rise to around a hundred feet or so by Church Bay and Carmel Head beyond.

N.B.The path across Mynachdy Farm and around Carmel Head on Anglesey's North West corner is closed during lambing season for obvious reasons.

Don't worry, though, you can decamp onto the Llanfairynghorwy road.

From here you can enjoy an amble along really narrow, winding and beautiful country roads to bring you back to the Coastal Path by Cemlyn Bay and Wylfa Nuclear Power Station.

You may feel as if you are getting slowly more and more lost, but don't worry, just keep the sea on your left shoulder.

Coastal Path from Cemaes Bay:

I kid you not, that I cannot find the right language to express the staggering beauty of the Coastal Path from Cemaes Bay onwards.

understand Anglesey's mysterious Feng Shui of rolling countryside and seascape.

But I am getting ahead of myself. And you.

Cemaes Bay and Llanbadrig are a stunning revelation.

You have to pass through astonishing coastal beauty before you even get near here.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins
with but a single step, sandwiches and a ski stick."

TOILETS AND PARKING

Toilets:

• NONE. At least there are none of the usual well-maintained and quality Anglesey County Council toilets near the beach.

I've noticed that caravan parks do not begrudge visitors using their facilities as long as you buy some stuff in the shop.

You didn't hear that here, but it does seem like good manners. And good manners will take you a long way.

Parking:

• There is a designated 100m length of road leading down to the beach and a pretty obvious little field has been left open for parking. Smart thinking by someone.

P.S. I must add a little warning here. I have heard that Anglesey has a Traffic Warden Flying Squad that occasionally turns up in the more remote areas. Church Bay has been 'hit' before now.

However, I would have hoped that someone with a bit of common sense at the County Council would be making life as easy as possible for you lovely and valuable visitors and holiday-makers.

PETS ON THE BEACH

• No major prohibition on dogs, but please keep them on a leash - Unlike Crazy Fido here.

• Though not here at Sandy Beach, there are Seasonal Prohibition on dogs on certain Anglesey beaches.

• Always bring a doggie poo-bag with you because the little dears can't always help themselves.

Imagine specific matter oozing from between your tanning and sandy toes.

Imagine a worse scenario; it’s your child! 

• The main concern regarding dogs on Anglesey beaches is a health issue. Doggie poo can blind for life.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DOG RESTRICTIONS ON ANGLESEY BEACHES PLEASE CLICK HERE.

P.S. You'll notice that there's no prohibition on taking a horse on the beach.

Strange that, considering the size of the deposit and the cataclysmic breaking of wind that's usually involved. But what do I know?

GETTING TO SANDY BEACH

It's a bit off the beaten track, which is excellent news for beach lovers.

Simple Directions:

• Travel across Anglesey on the A55 Expressway toward Holyhead until you reach Junction 3 for Valley. Come off here.

• Head into Valley and turn right at the traffic lights.

• Keep heading north on the A5025. After about a mile you'll pass through the hamlet of Llanynghenedl.

There is a 40mph speed limit that you should adhere to it, as cars can pull out of a Blind Spot on the road from your left by the houses.

• Pass through until you come to the village of Llanfachraeth

Halfway through the village you'll find a Post Office/Premier Shop on your right.

• About a hundred metres out of the village take the left hand turning for Llanfwrog. Dangerous junction for coming out onto. TAKE CARE AT THE END OF THE DAY.

The sign guides you to both Porth Penrhyn Mawr and Porth Tywyn Mawr (also known as Sandy Beach).

• Llanfwrog is about mile down the road ahead. It is a state of mind rather than a place but head in that direction anyway.

This is one of those anxiety-provoking “Have I taken the right turning?” kind of roads. Keep your nerve.

• Pass the church on your left and a hundred yards down the road you will notice the telephone box in someone’s garden.

‘This phone does not accept coins’ reads the sign. Turn left opposite here.

• Just over half a mile down this road you will come upon a fork in the road. The left road is for Penrhyn Beach and the right for Sandy Beach.

Take the right hand road and follow it for half a mile to arrive at this most excellent beach.

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES

I would love to hear from you about your stay at Sandy Beach or on this staggeringly beautiful stretch of Anglesey beach coastline.

Maybe you have some questions you want to ask in preparation for your visit?

Maybe you have special advice - or even warnings?

Please tell me what makes Sandy Beach and Anglesey a special place for you.

Please feel free to share by writing below.

,

Return from SANDY BEACH to ANGLESEY WESTERN BEACHES

Return to Anglesey Hidden Gem HOME PAGE

,