General information

Jump to: public transport and public footpaths ; horse riding ; dog restrictions

This (rather old) simple map shows the main car parks around Newborough.

By car The main car park for the beach is at the end of a narrow lane that leads from the cross-roads in the centre of the village (alongside the pub). The postcode LL61 6SG will bring you to the right road.  It’s about a mile from the village to the toll booth at the edge of the forest. There is now an ANPR (automated number plate recognition) system in place: your licence plate is logged as you enter and you are charged when you leave, with the fee depending on how long you have stayed – £7 is the maximum.

From the toll booth it is another mile or so on the forest road to the main beach car park. There are a couple of smaller parking areas en-route which are ideal if you like to explore the forest.

On sunny weekends and bank holidays this route becomes completely gridlocked long before you reach the forest. And with the new “pay as you leave” system, it becomes completely gridlocked all the way back through the forest on busy days as people try and leave. Happy days:-)

Since August 2020 the main toll road has a 2m height barrier at the toll booth. This is put across the entrance in the evenings (when the booth is shut – 4pm or 5pm) and doesn’t get opened again until around 9am the next day. (There is no height barrier on the exit side, so vehicles can get out at any time.)

The main car park has toilets, a mobile catering and ice cream van (on busy days), a cold water outdoor shower point, picnic and barbecue facilities and lots of information boards. There are several designated parking spaces for blue badge holders. If you have a blue badge, admission to the main car park is free (scan your badge’s barcode at the machine on the way out).

For the time being, the smaller car parks on the edges of the forest and the warren remain free of charge . They don’t have toilets, but apart from the ones in the village they do all have picnic tables. They are:

• Pen Cob at the Newborough end of the Malltraeth Cob, nearest postcode LL62 5BA and on the other side of the road heading back towards Newborough just a very short distance is the car park for Llyn Parc Mawr. These are great choices for setting off by bike into the forest (please use the main forest road, not the footpaths) without paying for the toll;
• Llyn Rhos Ddu and Braint both off Pen Lon on the edge of the warren. The nearest postcode for both is LL61 6RS, for Braint turn left immediately after the roundabout;
• in Newborough itself (Church Street and Pen Dref Street);
• at Malltraeth (LL62 5BA) at the end of the Cob with a picnic area overlooking the beautiful Cefni estuary – great for watching the coastal birds, or for starting a cycle ride from.

Public transport and footpaths – There are several bus stops in the village.  Buses come from Llangefni and Bangor.  If you are intending to walk to the beach, the shortest route is to get off at the Pen Lon roundabout and walk down through the Marram Grass sculpture car park (Llyn Rhos Ddu) and follow the trail along the edge of the forest – that’s a little less than a two mile walk (restricted by-way number 45/036/1; it’s very tricky with a buggy, perhaps possible if you’re super-fit; it’s not possible with a wheelchair – there is too much loose deep sand in places, and mud if it’s been wet).

Alternatively, you can get off in the centre of the village and walk down the main toll road (just over two miles and not at all pedestrian friendly for most of the way, but sadly the only way if you’re pushing a wheelchair or buggy etc).

Another option is to get off at Eglwys Bach (the old St Thomas Mission Church) and follow the footpath opposite, passing St Peter’s Church and across fields to the forest and then following the forest trails to the beach (also about two miles and all traffic free, but the gates make it unsuitable for buggies, wheelchairs, etc, and it’s difficult for big dogs to squeeze through some of them. The footpath numbers are 45/029/1, 2 & 3).

There is also a footpath to the forest that runs behind the bungalows on Bryn Rhedyn (footpath 45/033/1, starting grid ref SH419660) and across the fields – it can get boggy in places in wet weather, but it is a nice route too (also unsuitable for buggies, wheelchairs, etc, and with tricky stiles for dogs unless you can lift them over). This was one of the historic routes to the wool factory and fulling mill that used to be where the forest now is. (Update, April 2023: the broken boardwalks and stiles have been replaced, and new waymarker posts installed making this route much more user-friendly. Thanks to Anglesey Ramblers and the Council for this.)

You can find all these footpaths on Anglesey Council’s public rights of way map. You can also print the section of the map you need directly from there with the rights of way clearly highlighted. (And you can report any issues encountered with footpaths directly to the Council via the map.)

Screen grab from the Council website showing rights of way from Newborough into the forest and down to the beach

The nearest train station is at Bodorgan, on the main line to Holyhead. It’s a request stop with very limited facilities – but none the less lovely for that.  It is about four miles away from Newborough village and about two miles from Malltraeth and the cob. There is a footpath which is meant to follow alongside the railway line towards Malltraeth, but a better bet is to walk along the lanes (turn right out of the station, then right across the railway bridge and left at the road end) through the village of Hermon and pick up the Anglesey Coastal Path from there.

Bodorgan Train Station

Newborough Village has various retail and service providers, including: a shop; a pub (The White Lion); a chip shop and a cafe – The Red Squirrel (now also home to an art gallery). There is a mobile Post Office van that stops outside the P J Institute on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9.00am – 10.00am and then moves up to Rhodfa Meyrick until 10.30am on the same days (Post Office info available from 01248 362744).

Further out from the centre of the village we have Tacla Taid (Anglesey Transport Museum) and its cafe; Anglesey Model Village and its cafe; and Anglesey Alpacas for a walk with a difference.

In Malltraeth, there is the Riverside Cafe and gallery.  The village shop is also a chip shop, and there is a pub – The Joiners. The Rustic Gourmet offers an interesting and reasonably priced menu which you can either collect or have delivered.

There are several general caravan sites in and around the Newborough. Awelfryn (the one on the way to the forest toll) and White Lodge (on the road in from Dwyran and owned by the same family as Awelfryn) both have pitches for tents too. There are also Caravan / Camping club members-only sites – more and more every year.

“Pop-up” sites come and go: visit PitchUp to see what is available and when.

There is a new site – Maes Tywyn – off Pen Lon on the way in to Newborough from Dwyran.

Only very slightly further away is Ty Croes campsite on the outskirts of Dwyran – it has the added advantage of a vineyard which produces some lovely wines:)

Horse riding – to ride in Newborough Forest (where there are marked trails and a specially designated parking area at the Malltraeth/Pen Cob car park on the edge of the forest) you need to buy a permit. These cost £4 for a week or £10 for a whole year. From 1st July 2018 Natural Resources Wales are going to be administering the permit system in-house: contact them on 0300 065 3000 for more information.

Cycling – Newborough Forest is criss-crossed with tracks and trails that are ideal for cycling. However, they are just tracks and trails and are best suited to hybrid or mountain bikes – it can be tough going for a skinny wheeled road bike.  You can extend your cycle ride by parking (for free) at Malltraeth and beginning your journey by crossing the beautiful cob.

Dogs – between 1st May and 30th September, dogs are not permitted on the beach between the main car park (at the end of the toll road) and the causeway to Llanddwyn. This is the area of beach that used to be covered by the “Blue Flag” award for cleanliness, etc.  Between 1st April and 30th September dogs must be kept on their leads on Llanddwyn and must stay on the public rights of way.  Dogs can still be taken to the other beach areas (e.g. turning left on the beach from the main car park) and throughout the forest all through the year. And you can still access the island with a dog during the summer by walking through the forest on the road parallel to the beach until the residents’ car park and then skirting along the edge of the beach to the causeway. Click here for the NRW sign re dog restrictions.

Wildlife – much of the area is a National Nature Reserve and wildlife abound here. The National Biodiversity Network website has species lists for many things that can be seen in the area. But just because something isn’t on a list yet, doesn’t mean you might not see it: there’s always got to be a first time:)

In an emergency – if there is an incident / accident at the beach or along the coastal path and emergency services are required – dial 999 and ask for the COASTGUARD.

To report issues such as off-road motorbiking, over-night camping, fly tipping, etc in the forest or on the warren, call Natural Resources on 0300 065 3000 or the police on 101.