Wales
VIEWING ANGLESEY FROM A WHEELCHAIR
Beaumaris Castle
Anglesey is an island separated from the mainland of Wales by a narrow strip of water known as the Menai Strait. It is approached by either of two bridges, the Menai bridge or the Britannia Bridge. The whole island has beautiful coastal scenery and the views over the Menai Strait that take in the panorama of the Snowdonia mountains are spectacular.
For accessible places to stay in the area please scroll to the bottom of the page and for a wider accommodation search for other areas of Wales and the UK click here.
Beaumaris is situated on the coast just over six miles from the Britannia Bridge and is an interesting old town. Dominating it is the castle that King Edward 1st built towards the end of the reign of the Gwynedd princes. The majority of it is accessible for wheelchairs and both the user and their attendant are not charged for entry. There is a small step into the exhibition in the castle grounds but it is possible to negotiate it with a wheelchair, however once inside there is little room to manoeuvre.
Also in the town are the old gaol and the courthouse which although they say accessible in the brochure, in practise they proved quite limited as the doorways were too narrow in the gaol and a lot of the courtroom is upstairs. However you did get a feeling for the gruesome conditions prisoners found themselves in and the admission fee was reduced for the disabled.
Pili Palas ( Butterfly Farm )
Back towards the Menai Bridge and situated just off of the A5025 is Pili Palas. This had very good accessibility and is well worth the visit. There is a cafe serving light lunches and a disabled toilet on site. As well as the butterflies there are reptiles, creepy crawlies and a bird house.
The terrapin pool at Pili Palas
Anglesey Model Village
In the south of the island on the A4080 close to Dwyran is the model village and gardens, it is fully accessible although the cafe which serves light lunches has a step but there is a covered area attached to it, that is accessible to wheelchairs. There is no designated disabled toilet but the ordinary toilets have quite large cubicles.
Anglesey Sea Zoo
A short distance from the model village and situated on the coast is the Sea Zoo. The site has good access and is extremely interesting, showing many of the creatures that live in local waters. There is a shop and a cafe and a disabled toilet, however the toilet was quite difficult to negotiate internally. It is possible to spend a day here working behind the scenes but pre-booking is essential.
Plas Newydd
This beautiful National Trust property is situated on the shoreline of the Menai Straits with magnificent views over the water to the mountains of Snowdonia. The main car park is situated near the entrance to the grounds some distance from the house, however there is a dropping off point for disabled visitors by the house. For those that can transfer there is a courtesy bus. Some of the gardens of the house are set on sloping ground and a strong pusher is needed to access them. Part of the formal garden is not wheelchair accessible. There is a shop and disabled toilet near the main car park. There is also a tearoom which as well as snacks serves lunches and stays open a half an hour after the house closes.
Anglesey is an island that offers a range of historic and more modern visitor attractions that would prove interesting to wheelchair visitors of all ages.
For places to stay there is a Travelodge and a Travel Inn at Bangor four miles from Anglesey, these have conventional baths. On the island itself there is a guest house called Rhostrehufa near Llangefni which has a ground floor double bedded room and includes a continental breakfast, please phone 01248 722106. Also the Anchorage Hotel at Four Mile Bridge near Holyhead offers ground floor accommodation with a wet room. Phone 01407 740168.