By Car
The Menai Suspension Bridge — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
From the A55 North Wales Expressway, cross onto Anglesey and follow signs to the A545, which runs the final scenic four miles along the strait from Menai Bridge into Beaumaris — one of the prettiest approach roads in Wales. Sat-nav: LL58 8AP lands you at the Town Hall on Castle Street. From Chester allow about 1 hour 20; from Manchester or Liverpool, roughly 2 hours. Parking: main car parks by the castle and the Green — early arrival advised on summer weekends.
By Train & Bus
The nearest railway station is Bangor, on the North Wales Coast main line (direct Avanti/TfW services from London Euston, Manchester, Cardiff and Holyhead), about 10 miles from town. From the bus stops near Bangor’s clock tower, buses 53/57/58 cross to Beaumaris roughly every 20–30 minutes, taking around 40 minutes — a genuinely pleasant ride along the strait. Full car-free detail in Beaumaris Without a Car.
Other Routes
Coach: National Express and TrawsCymru serve Bangor; connect by local bus. Air: Manchester and Liverpool airports are both about two hours by road or rail-plus-bus. Ferry: Holyhead’s Irish Sea services are 40 minutes up the A55 — Beaumaris makes a civilised first or last night for Ireland-bound travellers. Boat: your own keel? The strait moorings and the Royal Anglesey Yacht Club say yes.
The Scenic Arrival
However you come, engineer the approach along the A545 from Menai Bridge: four miles of strait-side road with the water on one side and wooded slopes on the other, arriving past Victoria Terrace onto the Green — the best first impression any Welsh town offers. Drivers coming via Britannia Bridge (A55 junction 8A) can loop through Menai Bridge town to pick it up. On the bus, sit on the right-hand side heading to Beaumaris for the same show. First-timers arriving at golden hour will understand immediately why painters have worked this shoreline for two centuries.
Explore Wales & the Borderlands
