Beaumaris is an elegant Georgian seaside town on the island of Anglesey, built around one of the finest medieval castles in Britain and a working Victorian pier looking out across the Menai Strait. This guide brings together the best things to do in Beaumaris, from the castle and courthouse to boat trips and independent shops, with practical prices, opening times and route planning for every attraction covered.
The town’s Georgian character sets it apart from the more overtly Victorian resorts further along the North Wales coast, with elegant townhouses and a genteel seafront that grew up around visitors arriving by steamer from Liverpool. That heritage is still visible in the architecture of Castle Street and Church Street today.
History here runs from the 13th century through to the 19th, taking in Edward I’s unfinished UNESCO World Heritage castle, a working 17th-century courthouse and a Victorian gaol that held prisoners until 1878. Few towns of this size in Wales pack quite so many centuries of history into a walkable centre.
The Menai Strait itself is central to a visit too, whether that’s watching yacht racing off the pier, taking a boat trip out towards Puffin Island’s seals and seabirds, or simply enjoying the view across to the mountains of Snowdonia. Beaumaris makes the most of its waterside setting in a way that few other Anglesey towns manage.
This guide covers every one of the town’s attractions in turn, along with the practical detail needed to plan a half-day visit, a full day, or a longer stay exploring the rest of Anglesey from a Beaumaris base.
| Attraction | Best For | How Long to Allow | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaumaris Castle | UNESCO castle history | 1–2 hours | Paid |
| Beaumaris Pier | Views & sea air | 20–30 minutes | Free |
| Beaumaris Courthouse | Georgian courtroom history | 30–45 minutes | Paid |
| Beaumaris Gaol | Victorian prison history | 45–60 minutes | Paid |
| Puffin Island Boat Trips | Puffins, seals & Snowdonia views | 75 minutes | Paid |
| Georgian High Street & Shops | Architecture & independent shopping | 30–60 minutes | Free |
| Beaumaris Green & Seafront | Relaxing walk & picnics | 20–30 minutes | Free |
| Menai Strait Views | Scenery towards Snowdonia | 15–20 minutes | Free |
| St Mary and St Nicholas Church | Princess Joan’s tomb & Tudor monuments | 15–20 minutes | Free |
| Sailing on the Menai Strait | Watching yacht racing & regattas | Flexible | Free |
| Eat and Drink in Beaumaris | Tearooms, delis & seafront dining | Flexible | Varies |
| Castell Aberlleiniog | Norman ruin & woodland walk | 30–45 minutes | Free |
| Penmon Priory & Trwyn Du Lighthouse | Medieval priory & coastal views | 1–2 hours | Free |
Visit Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris Castle was the last and largest of the great fortresses built by Edward I in Wales, begun in 1295 but never fully finished. It forms part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd UNESCO World Heritage Site, alongside Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech castles.
Its symmetrical, concentric design, a moat-ringed inner ward set inside an outer ring of walls, is often considered the most sophisticated of the four castles on the UNESCO listing, even though it was never completed to its full planned height. For the neighbouring site on the same listing, see our Conwy Castle guide.
Inside, visitors can climb the battlements and towers for views across the moat towards the Menai Strait and Snowdonia beyond, with information panels explaining the castle’s unfinished construction along the way. Most people allow one to two hours to explore fully, including a walk around the outer walls and a stop at the visitor centre.
Because it was never finished, Beaumaris lacks the tall towers and dramatic silhouette of Conwy or Caernarfon, so its appeal lies more in its layout and history than in a single dramatic view. That said, the sheer scale of the moat and double walls still makes for one of the more atmospheric castle visits in North Wales.
Admission for the 2026 summer season (1 June–31 August) starts from £7.60 (€8.74/$9.65) for a child or student and £10.90 (€12.54/$13.84) for an adult. Opening hours run 9:30am–6pm in July and August, dropping to 9:30am–5pm either side of summer and 10am–4pm over winter, with the castle closed on 24–26 December and 1 January.
Beaumaris Castle is managed by Cadw, the same organisation behind Conwy Castle and Plas Mawr, and it accepts the Cadw Explorer Pass for visitors planning to see several sites. A 3-day pass costs from £28.00 (€32.20/$35.56) for one adult, giving unlimited entry to Beaumaris, Conwy Castle, Plas Mawr and other Cadw sites across Wales.
Learn More from UNESCO
This destination is connected to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for its outstanding cultural, historical, or natural importance. You can explore official listings, background information, and protected heritage sites through UNESCO’s global database.
Visit St Mary and St Nicholas Church
The parish church of St Mary and St Nicholas dates largely to the 14th century, built soon after Edward I’s castle went up nearby. Its nave, aisles and tower survive from that first phase, with the chancel rebuilt in the 15th century.
The church’s most remarkable resident is the stone coffin of Princess Joan, illegitimate daughter of King John and wife of Llywelyn the Great. She died in 1237 and was buried at the Franciscan friary in Llanfaes, but her coffin was lost after the friary’s dissolution, later found doing duty as a horse trough, and eventually rescued and installed here.
Inside, look out for the alabaster tomb of William Bulkeley and his wife Elin, one of the finest Tudor monuments in North Wales. A set of carved misericords survives under the choir stall seats, depicting everyday medieval life alongside moral lessons.
The church sits a short walk from the castle gates on Church Street, an easy add-on between the bigger paid attractions. It’s free to step inside, and volunteers are often on hand to point out the highlights.
Most visits take no more than fifteen to twenty minutes, though Princess Joan’s story tends to draw history enthusiasts in for longer. There’s no need to book ahead, and the church welcomes visitors outside of service times.
It pairs naturally with a walk around the Georgian streets nearby, since both sit within a couple of minutes of each other. Combining the two makes for a relaxed, low-cost hour exploring the quieter side of Beaumaris.
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Compare pricesWalk Beaumaris Pier and the Seafront
Beaumaris Pier was built in 1846 and rebuilt in Victorian style in 1872, stretching around 170 metres out into the Menai Strait with a pavilion at its far end. It once welcomed pleasure steamers from Liverpool, and it remains a working pier today after a 2011 to 2012 restoration.
A walk to the pavilion at the far end takes only a few minutes, past anglers casting for sea fish and a small kiosk selling ice cream in summer. The timber decking and cast-iron railings are largely original to the Victorian rebuild, giving it a genuinely historic feel rather than a modern replica.
From the pier and the adjoining Beaumaris Green, the views stretch across the water to the mountains of Snowdonia, with the castle and Georgian terraces at your back. It’s one of the best spots in town for photographs, particularly in the late afternoon light.
It’s free to walk the length of the pier and along the promenade at any time, making it one of the easiest ways to get a proper feel for the town without spending anything at all. There are no set opening hours to work around, so it fits naturally either at the start or end of a day exploring Beaumaris.
It’s not a destination to build a special trip around on its own, but it takes only twenty to thirty minutes and pairs naturally with the castle a short walk away. Benches along the promenade make a good stop for a rest or a coffee before continuing to explore the rest of the town.
Visit the Victorian Courthouse and Beaumaris Gaol
Beaumaris Courthouse was built in 1614, making it one of the oldest working courthouses in Britain, with 19th-century alterations that left much of its original Stuart character intact. Inside, the restored courtroom, the Grand Jury Room and the Records Room bring genuine 19th-century justice to life.
One of the most striking cases on record is that of William Murphy, sentenced to death here in 1910, and the courtroom itself still has the atmosphere of a working 19th-century court rather than a static museum piece. Visitors can sit on the original benches and see the dock where defendants once stood.
Next door, Beaumaris Gaol opened in 1829 and held prisoners until 1878, and it remains remarkably unaltered inside. A working treadwheel survives on site, which once pumped water for the prison rather than serving purely as punishment.
Visitors can see the condemned cell, the punishment cells and the exercise yard, a genuinely sobering look at transportation-era justice rather than a sanitised version of it. Together the courthouse and gaol take around 45 minutes to an hour to see properly, and the two sit close enough together to visit back to back.
It’s a more unsettling visit than the castle or the pier, so it may not suit very young children, though older kids and teenagers tend to find the gaol’s history genuinely gripping. Information panels throughout explain the social history behind the sentences rather than presenting it purely for shock value.
A combined ticket covers both the courthouse and gaol, priced from £5.00 (€5.75/$6.35) for a child and £6.50 (€7.48/$8.26) for an adult, with both sites typically open 10am–5pm daily. It’s worth checking current opening days before visiting, since both buildings are run by Beaumaris Town Council and occasionally close for maintenance or events outside the main season.
Watch Sailing on the Menai Strait
Beaumaris has been one of the best-known small-boat sailing centres in Wales for over a century, and on a breezy afternoon the water off the pier is usually dotted with yachts and dinghies. The Royal Anglesey Yacht Club, founded in 1802, runs racing throughout the season from its seafront clubhouse.
The biggest spectacle is the Menai Strait Regattas, a fortnight of racing held every summer that brings classic one-design yachts, cruisers and dinghies to the water in front of the town. Courses often run from Beaumaris towards Caernarfon through the Swellies, or out around Puffin Island.
Watching is completely free, and the pier, the Green and the promenade all give a good vantage point over the racing without needing to book anything. Bring binoculars if you have them, since the closest boats can be some distance offshore.
Outside regatta weeks, it’s still worth a look along the seafront, since the club’s regular races keep the strait busy through spring and summer. Small boats racing against the backdrop of the castle and Snowdonia make for excellent photographs.
There’s no fixed schedule for casual visitors, so it works best as something enjoyed in passing rather than a planned stop. Check the Menai Strait Regattas’ dates in advance if watching the racing is the main draw of your visit.
It’s an easy, cost-free way to see a different side of Beaumaris beyond the castle and historic buildings, particularly for anyone interested in sailing or coastal life. Combined with a walk on the pier, it needs no extra time set aside.
Explore Beaumaris’s Georgian Architecture and Shops
Beaumaris grew wealthy as a Georgian resort town, and its Castle Street and Church Street are still lined with elegant townhouses and colourful shopfronts that survived largely intact. The grand Bulkeley Hotel anchors the seafront end of town, a reminder of Beaumaris’s heyday as a fashionable early 19th-century resort.
Wandering the main streets costs nothing and gives a strong sense of how the town looked when it first became popular with wealthy visitors arriving by steamer from Liverpool. Many of the buildings retain original sash windows, fanlights and ironwork, details worth looking out for as you walk.
Independent shops rather than chains dominate the town centre, from galleries and gift shops to bakeries and outdoor gear stores. It’s an easy place to fill half an hour between the bigger attractions, particularly if the weather turns.
It’s a pleasant contrast to some of the more commercialised seaside towns along the North Wales coast, and particularly good for browsing on a wet afternoon. Cafés and tearooms are dotted along the main streets too, handy for a break between sights.
There’s no admission charge and nothing that needs booking, so it works well as a flexible filler between the castle, pier and gaol rather than a fixed stop with its own opening hours. Most of it sits within a couple of minutes’ walk of the castle gates.
Eat and Drink in Beaumaris
Beaumaris punches well above its size for food and drink, with independent tearooms, delis and restaurants packed into the streets around the castle. Castle Street and the seafront are the best places to start browsing, since most options sit within a couple of minutes’ walk of each other.
Traditional tearooms serve cream teas and homemade cakes in china cups, a genuinely old-fashioned experience that’s increasingly rare on the North Wales coast. They tend to be small and popular, so arriving outside the busiest lunchtime hours makes finding a table easier.
Local delis and butchers sell freshly made sandwiches and pies using Welsh lamb, beef and Menai Strait seafood, ideal for a picnic on the Green. Fish and chip shops near the seafront are a reliable, low-cost option after a day of sightseeing.
A handful of restaurants and bistros, some attached to the town’s historic hotels, offer more formal dining with views across the Menai Strait towards Snowdonia. Booking ahead is worth it for dinner in peak season, since Beaumaris draws diners from well beyond the town.
Ice cream from the kiosk near the pier is something of a local tradition, best enjoyed on a bench looking out towards the mountains. It’s an easy way to round off a walk along the seafront.
None of this needs booking beyond a restaurant table, so it works naturally around whichever attractions you’ve planned for the day. Prices vary widely, from a quick ice cream to a full evening meal, so it suits every kind of budget.
Take a Boat Trip to Puffin Island
Puffin Island (Ynys Seiriol) sits just off the eastern tip of Anglesey and is home to breeding seabirds, a large grey seal colony and the remains of a medieval monastery. Landing isn’t permitted, so the only way to see it up close is by boat.
Boats leave directly from Beaumaris Pier, cruising along the Menai Strait past the castle and towards Puffin Island with commentary on the wildlife and history along the way. Look out for grey seals hauled out on the rocks and, depending on the season, puffins and other seabirds nesting on the cliffs.
Starida, the longest-running operator, runs a 75-minute wildlife cruise daily between April and October, weather and tides permitting. It’s a genuinely scenic trip even without guaranteed wildlife sightings, taking in views back towards Beaumaris Castle and across to the Snowdonia mountains.
Prices start from £10.49 (€12.06/$13.32) for a child and £20.03 (€23.03/$25.44) for an adult, with discounts for younger children applied at booking. Other operators, including Seacoast Safaris, run similar trips from the same pier, so it’s worth comparing sailing times and prices on the day.
Sailings can be cancelled or altered at short notice depending on conditions, so it’s worth booking online in advance and having a flexible plan for the day rather than relying on a single sailing time. Warm, windproof clothing is worth bringing even in summer, since it’s noticeably cooler out on the water.
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Check transfersVisit Castell Aberlleiniog
Castell Aberlleiniog is a ruined Norman motte and bailey castle around two miles from Beaumaris, built between 1080 and 1099 by Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester. It’s a far older and rougher site than Beaumaris Castle, offering a different flavour of Anglesey’s history.
The castle was the scene of a bloody siege in 1094, when Gruffudd ap Cynan led Welsh forces to a rare victory over the occupying Normans. Its timber defences were later rebuilt in stone, before the castle was abandoned in the mid-17th century.
Today, visitors can make out the raised motte, the bailey enclosure and sections of surviving stone curtain wall, along with the remains of round corner towers. A community-led restoration project has been gradually opening up more of the site since 2008.
It’s free to visit, with no fixed opening hours and no ticket office, though there are no toilets or café on site, so it suits a shorter stop. The ground is steep and can be muddy, so sturdy footwear is worth wearing rather than town shoes.
Parking is limited to a small amount of roadside space near the site, shared in part with access to nearby Lleiniog beach. Allow around thirty to forty-five minutes to explore, including the short, uneven climb up to the motte.
It’s best treated as an optional extra for visitors with a car and an interest in castles beyond the main UNESCO site, rather than an essential stop on a first visit. Combined with Lleiniog beach, it makes for a quiet afternoon away from the busier parts of town.
Visit Penmon Priory and Trwyn Du Lighthouse
Penmon Point sits at the far eastern tip of Anglesey, around four miles from Beaumaris, bringing together a medieval priory, a historic lighthouse and some of the best sea views on the island. It’s a short drive, but a worthwhile add-on for anyone with a car.
Penmon Priory dates back to the 6th century as a monastic site, with the surviving church, dovecote and holy well largely dating from the 12th and 13th centuries. It’s free to look around, and the buildings are remarkably complete for a site of this age.
A short walk beyond the priory leads to Trwyn Du Lighthouse, a striped black and white tower built between 1835 and 1838 to guide ships through the currents at the mouth of the Menai Strait. Puffin Island sits just offshore, and grey seals are often spotted on the rocks below.
There’s a small toll for parking at Penmon Point, priced from around £3.50 (€4.03/$4.45) per car and payable in cash at the barrier, with the priory and lighthouse themselves free to view. A café near the car park serves drinks and snacks after the walk.
Allow around one to two hours to see the priory, walk to the lighthouse and enjoy the views, longer if combining it with a stretch of the coastal path. The path from the car park to the lighthouse is flat, easy and suitable for most fitness levels.
It’s best treated as a half-day extension to a Beaumaris visit rather than a stop in its own right, ideally combined with a drive around Anglesey’s eastern edge. Public transport is limited, so a car is the most practical way to reach it.
Browse Beaumaris Artisan Market
Beaumaris has a strong independent shopping scene, and the Beaumaris Artisan Market adds another reason to browse beyond the permanent shops around Castle Street and Church Street. The market brings together local makers, artists, food producers and small businesses from Anglesey and the wider North Wales area.
Stalls vary between market dates, but visitors can expect a mixture of handmade gifts, artwork, jewellery, crafts and locally produced food. It is particularly useful if you are looking for something made on Anglesey rather than the more generic souvenirs found in larger tourist towns.
The market is also a good wet-weather addition to a day in Beaumaris, especially when combined with the independent shops and cafés in the town centre. You do not need to allow a huge amount of time, with around 30 to 45 minutes enough for most visitors to have a proper look around.
Market dates and opening times vary through the year, so check the latest schedule before travelling specifically for it. If your visit happens to coincide with a market day, it is an easy addition between Beaumaris Castle, the Georgian streets and the seafront.
There is no admission charge simply to browse, although it is worth bringing a card or some cash if you intend to buy from the smaller traders. It adds a more contemporary side to Beaumaris alongside all the town’s medieval, Georgian and Victorian history.
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Check storageWalk the Anglesey Coast Path from Beaumaris
You do not have to leave Beaumaris by car to see more of the Anglesey coastline. The Wales Coast Path runs around the island, making it possible to turn a visit to the castle and pier into a longer coastal walk.
Heading east from Beaumaris takes you towards Llanfaes and Penmon, with views across the Menai Strait and increasingly rural stretches of coastline as you leave the town behind. Strong walkers can continue towards Penmon and the eastern end of Anglesey, although that turns a short sightseeing walk into a considerably longer outing.
For something easier, simply follow the waterfront out of Beaumaris for as long as you want before retracing your route. Even a 30 to 60-minute walk provides a change from the busier castle and town-centre attractions without requiring another admission ticket.
The scenery changes with the weather and tide, with views across the water towards the North Wales mountains particularly impressive on clear days. Keep an eye on the strait too, where sailing boats, ferries and other small craft regularly pass Beaumaris.
The walk is free, but sensible footwear is preferable if you intend to continue beyond the surfaced sections around town. Longer stretches of the coast path can be muddy or uneven, particularly after wet weather.
For visitors spending a full day in Beaumaris, this is a good way of balancing the castle, courthouse and gaol with some time outdoors. You can keep it very short or make the coast path one of the main activities of the day.
Check What’s On in Beaumaris
Beaumaris is worth checking for events and festivals before fixing your itinerary, particularly during spring and summer. The castle, seafront and Menai Strait all provide venues for seasonal events that can make two visits to the town quite different.
Beaumaris Castle hosts occasional special events, including historical activities and medieval-themed events that make use of the castle’s huge inner and outer wards. These are particularly good for families, although dates vary rather than following a permanent weekly programme.
On the water, the Menai Strait Regattas are among the most distinctive events of the summer. Racing takes place along the strait, and spectators can watch much of the action for free from Beaumaris Pier, the Green and the waterfront.
The town also hosts markets and smaller community events at different points during the year, while Christmas brings its own programme of seasonal activities. It is therefore worth checking what’s happening even if an event was not originally part of your plans.
Major event days can make Beaumaris significantly busier, particularly around the castle and seafront. If something is taking place during your visit, arrive earlier for parking and allow extra time if you have timed tickets or a Puffin Island boat departure.
Events can also change from year to year, so use the current organiser or local tourism listings rather than relying on dates from a previous season. For the right visit, though, an event can turn a straightforward sightseeing day into one of the more memorable stops on Anglesey.
Relax at Seacoast Sauna Beaumaris
For something completely different from castles and museums, Seacoast Sauna Beaumaris offers a chance to warm up beside the Menai Strait while enjoying the town’s coastal setting.
The experience centres on a wood-fired sauna close to the waterfront, combining the heat of the sauna with views across the water towards the North Wales coast. It is an increasingly popular style of coastal experience around Britain and provides a very different way to enjoy Beaumaris.
Sessions need more planning than simply walking onto the pier, as spaces and session times are limited. Booking ahead is therefore sensible, particularly on weekends and during the busier summer season.
Allow roughly an hour around the experience, although the exact session length depends on the booking selected. Bring whatever swimwear, footwear and other items are specified by the operator when booking rather than arriving expecting everything to be provided.
This will not appeal to everyone, and first-time visitors with only a couple of hours in Beaumaris should prioritise the castle, pier and historic centre. For a longer stay, however, it adds something genuinely different to a town otherwise dominated by heritage attractions.
It can work particularly well towards the end of a day exploring Anglesey, followed by something to eat in Beaumaris. Check current sessions, prices and availability before visiting, as these are more likely to change than the opening arrangements at the town’s established historic attractions.
Best Things to Do in Beaumaris With Children
Beaumaris works well for families, with Beaumaris Castle‘s towers and battlements giving children plenty of space to explore and climb. The moat and grassy outer walls also make a good spot to let energy out between the more historic parts of a visit.
The gaol usually proves a hit with slightly older children fascinated by its grimmer history, from the condemned cell to the working treadwheel. Younger children may find it a bit much, so it’s worth reading the room before committing to a visit.
The puffin and seal boat trips are a genuine highlight too, with wildlife sightings that tend to hold younger attention far better than another museum. Life jackets are provided, and crews are generally used to explaining what to look out for to younger passengers.
Beaumaris Green next to the pier gives somewhere to run around after sightseeing, and the pier itself is flat and easy for pushchairs. Ice cream from the kiosk at the pier is usually a reliable way to end an afternoon.
Most of the town’s attractions sit within a 10-minute walk of each other, so a full family day is possible without needing a car once you’ve parked. It also means there’s flexibility to cut a visit short if children tire, without losing much time travelling between sights.
Best Free Things to Do in Beaumaris
Beaumaris is generous with free attractions for a small town. Walking the length of Beaumaris Pier costs nothing, and the same goes for wandering the Georgian streets around Castle Street and Church Street.
Beaumaris Green, right next to the pier, is free to relax on, with views across the Menai Strait towards the mountains of Snowdonia. The parish church of St Mary and St Nicholas is also free to look around, and worth a few minutes if you’re passing.
None of these need booking or timed tickets, so they can be strung together into a loop around town without any planning beyond checking the weather. It’s an easy way to get a feel for Beaumaris before deciding which paid attractions are worth adding on.
That’s enough to fill a relaxed half day without spending anything on admission. It pairs naturally with a stop for lunch or an ice cream at one of the independent cafés overlooking the water.
Combine it with a paid attraction like the castle or gaol for a fuller day, or keep it entirely free if you’re passing through on a wider Anglesey road trip. Either way, it’s one of the more generous small towns in North Wales for a no-cost visit.
How Long Do You Need in Beaumaris?
A focused visit to Beaumaris Castle, the pier and the seafront can be done in half a day, which suits anyone combining Beaumaris with the rest of Anglesey or a wider North Wales itinerary. Start at the castle in the morning before the coach parties arrive, then finish with a walk out to the pier.
With a full day, you can add the courthouse and gaol, a boat trip to Puffin Island and time browsing the Georgian streets and independent shops. It’s worth checking boat trip times in advance, since sailings are limited to a handful of departures a day.
Beaumaris also works well as a base for a night or two, particularly if you want to explore the rest of Anglesey’s coastline at a slower pace. There are B&Bs and hotels in and around the town, including the Georgian Bulkeley Hotel on the seafront.
Anyone short on time can still see the highlights in around two to three hours, focusing on the castle and pier alone and treating the rest as a bonus rather than a must. It’s compact enough that little time is lost walking between attractions.
Whichever pace you choose, it’s worth building in some flexibility around the boat trips, since these depend on weather and tides rather than a fixed timetable. A spare hour or two makes it much easier to fit one in if conditions change.
Getting to Beaumaris
Beaumaris has no railway station of its own, so most visitors arrive via Bangor, the nearest mainline stop on the North Wales Coast Line. From there, the number 58 bus run by Arriva covers the roughly seven miles to Beaumaris in around 40 minutes.
The same route also links Beaumaris with Menai Bridge, a few miles closer, so it’s a useful stop if you’re coming from that direction instead. Buses run regularly through the day, though it’s worth checking timetables in advance if you’re relying on public transport for a day trip.
Drivers usually reach Beaumaris via the A545 from Menai Bridge, with pay-and-display parking available close to the pier and castle. Parking can fill up on busy summer weekends, so arriving earlier in the day makes finding a space considerably easier.
Beaumaris also works well as a stop on a wider tour of Anglesey, sitting close to the Menai Strait crossings and within easy reach of the island’s other beaches, villages and coastal walks. It’s an easy add-on to a day that also takes in Menai Bridge or the rest of the island’s coastline.
There’s no need for a car once you’ve arrived, since the castle, pier, gaol and courthouse all sit within walking distance of each other in the town centre. That makes it a straightforward stop even for visitors relying entirely on public transport.
Rupert’s Handy Travel Tips
Heading to Beaumaris? Here are a few useful tips to help you make the most of your visit:
- Book the castle online in summer: Beaumaris Castle gets busy on peak summer days, and booking a ticket through Cadw in advance avoids queuing at the gate.
- Ask about the Explorer Pass: If you’re also visiting Conwy Castle or Plas Mawr, the Cadw Explorer Pass works out cheaper than paying for each site separately.
- Book Puffin Island trips ahead: Boat trips depend on tides and weather, so book online where possible and have a backup plan in case a sailing is cancelled.
- Buy the combined gaol and courthouse ticket: Both sites sit close together on Castle Street, so the combined ticket saves money if you’re visiting both.
- Wrap up on the pier: The Menai Strait can be breezy even on a sunny day, so bring a layer for the walk out to the pavilion.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Beaumaris worth visiting?
Yes. Beaumaris combines a UNESCO World Heritage castle, a genuine Victorian courthouse and gaol, a Georgian seafront and boat trips out to Puffin Island, all within a compact, walkable town, making it one of the most rewarding stops on Anglesey.
Is Beaumaris Castle part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Yes. It’s one of four castles, alongside Conwy, Caernarfon and Harlech, that make up the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd UNESCO World Heritage Site.
How do you get to Puffin Island?
You can’t land on Puffin Island, but boat trips from Beaumaris Pier cruise past it, giving views of the seabird colonies, grey seals and monastery ruins from the water.
Can you visit Beaumaris Gaol and Courthouse together?
Yes. A combined ticket covers both sites, which sit close together on Castle Street and can comfortably be visited in the same couple of hours.
How long do you need in Beaumaris?
Half a day covers the castle, pier and seafront, while a full day allows time for the courthouse, the gaol, a boat trip and a wander around the Georgian streets and shops.
Is there parking in Beaumaris?
Yes, there are pay-and-display car parks close to the pier and castle. The town centre streets are narrow, so it’s easier to park nearby and explore on foot.
Further Reading & Related Guides
Beaumaris shares its UNESCO listing with three other Edward I castles, and our Conwy Castle guide covers the second of the four in far more depth, including its own town walls and Tudor townhouse. Caernarfon and Harlech complete the set, both worth adding to a wider North Wales castle trip if time allows.
Beaumaris sits on Anglesey, an island with its own beaches, coastal path and smaller castles worth exploring beyond the town itself, so it rewards more than a single afternoon if your schedule allows it. For the bigger picture of how Beaumaris fits alongside Snowdonia, the coast and the rest of the country, our Wales Travel Guide brings together the national parks, castles and coastline that pair naturally with a visit here.
If you’re planning to explore further afield, our Things to Do in Caernarfon guide covers a natural next stop on the mainland, sitting just across the Menai Strait from Anglesey and sharing the same UNESCO listing as Beaumaris and Conwy.
