Church Island

Key Facts

• Location: Menai Bridge, Anglesey
• Size: 1.1 hectare
• Terrain: Footpath
• Access: Causeway
• Height gain: 44 metres
• Map: OS Explorer 263; OS Landranger 114 or 115
• Starting point: Coed Cyrnol car park (GR SH 554 719)
• Accommodation/food:

  Food and drink: The Green Olive vegan restaurant, Menai Bridge

  Accommodation in Menai Bridge:

  Luxury: built into the cliffside, immediately below Menai Suspension Bridge Manadwyn holiday house is a stunning place to watch the ever-changing currents of The Swellies

  Mid-range: Maen Hir Guesthouse, warm welcome and hearty Welsh breakfast

  Camping: Caerhun Farm, a Welsh smallholding with tent pitches, pods and a retro caravan.

• Island Summary:

  A short circular walk in Menai Bridge to Church Island for great views of the Menai Suspension Bridge and the turbulent waters of The Swellies. The walk initially passes through Coed Cyrnol, a woodland Local Nature Reserve of Scots pine, broadleaf woodland and scrub with a diversity of wildlife and birdlife including red squirrels and resident coal tit, long-tailed tit, tree creeper, tawny owl and woodpeckers, with the occasional passing crossbill in the summer. The route crosses the causeway for a walk around the island’s perimeter with great views from all angles including both bridges, The Swellies and an island in the Straits, known as Ynys Welltog, that’s a breeding site for greylag geese, oystercatchers and herons.

• Look out for:
  • Woodland birds, waders, red squirrels and seals
  • Primroses in spring time
  • Ornate gravestones
  • Charming St Tysilio Church
• Route description:

  From the car park head west downhill through the woodland of Coed Cyrnol to reach the small causeway across to the island. A path leads around the perimeter of the island and the churchyard, with a further path to the high point, the War Memorial. Either return the same way or turn right at the end of the causeway to follow the shoreline of the Belgian Promenade towards the Menai Suspension Bridge, then head uphill on Beach Road to return to the car park on the pavement alongside the A5.

• Getting there:

  Getting to Church Island: cross to Anglesey on the A5 using the Menai Suspension Bridge, take first exit on the roundabout, pass Waitrose on the left and park in Coed Cyrnol car park (GR SH 554 719). Walk west on the footpath down to the island.