NORTH WALES - England 2012 and the Best of Wales - page 732

To Ireland by Ferryboat

Two ferry companies operate between
Holyhead (pronounced Holly -head) and
either the Irish port of Dun Laoghaire
(a railway junction 7 miles south of
Dublin) or Dublin Port itself. Both com-
panies run a swift and a conventional
service; journey time is around 2 hours
for swift ferries (3 1 ⁄ 2 hr. for conventional
ones), with three to five departures
daily. On Stena Line ( & 0844/770-
7070; www.stenaline.co.uk), only foot
passengers are allowed on the swift
ferry; passengers with cars must travel

on conventional ferries. Irish Ferries
( & 0870/517-1717; www.irishferries.
com) carries passengers and cars on
both services. Round-trips for passen-
gers traveling or returning on the same
day are £27 to £32 for adults, £14 to
£19 for children 4 to 15, and £68 for a
family day-trip ticket (Stena only).
Fares for car passage vary with season
and ticket type, but typically cost
between £70 and £150 or more each
way for a car and one passenger.

19

The A55 North Wales coastal road crosses the Menai Strait and is Anglesey's main
arterial road, linking the Menai Bridge and Holyhead. It becomes a causeway as it
approaches Holy Island; the Four Mile Bridge on the B4545 also links Holy Island to
Anglesey. Aside from the A55, roads on the isle are slow going—but scenic.
VISITOR INFORMATION Anglesey's main Tourist Information Centre,
Railway Station, Llanfair PG ( & 01248/713177; www.visitanglesey.co.uk), is open
Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5:30pm, Sunday 10am to 5pm. It closes for lunch
between 1 and 2pm.
Exploring Anglesey
Visitors cross the strait by one of the two bridges built by celebrated engineers of the
19th century: The Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford
and completed in 1826, and the Britannia Bridge, originally only a railway bridge,
which was the work of Robert Stephenson and opened 24 years later. The Britannia
had to be rebuilt after a devastating 1970 fire that destroyed its pitch and timberwork;
it now carries both trains and cars on two levels. The bridges are almost side-by-side
west of Bangor.
BEAUMARIS
The tiny town of Beaumaris is the site of the largest of Edward's “Iron Ring” of
castles (p. 730). A small settlement grew up around the castle, developing into a
major port and making Beaumaris a trading center until the arrival of the railway in
the 1800s. Preserved just as it was in 1614, Beaumaris Court, Castle Street
( & 01248/811691 ), hosts a fascinating, if slightly grim, exhibition that highlights
the arbitrary and brutal nature of justice in centuries past. Although, timbered inte-
rior aside, it looks little different from a modern British courtroom, stories of “burning
in the hand,” hanging, and transportation thankfully belong to another era. It's open
April through September Saturday to Thursday 10:30am to 5pm, and the same hours
on October weekends. Admission costs £3 for adults, £2.25 for seniors and children.
The town's squat Victorian Gaol , Steeple Lane ( & 01248/810921 ), continues
the penitentiary theme. You're free to explore its gloomy corridors and cells, many
enhanced with detailed explanations of the prison's harsh regime. Grisly highlights