Distance: 3.6 kilometres / 2.2 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Essentially this is a short, flat, clockwise walk around the perimeter of Llyn Maelog, and a stroll along the beach at Traeth Llydan. Binoculars might prove useful as both places offer superb opportunities for spotting wildlife of all kinds. Parts of the lake side path may be rocky or muddy, and take care crossing the roads. 

Directions

Car Park to farthest Footbridge

Start from the small off-road parking area (there’s room for six or seven cars) next to the road bridge on the A4080 just outside Rhosneigr.

Carefully cross the main road, and enter the lake area at the footpath sign and boardwalk opposite the parking area.

Cross the small footbridge and follow the boardwalk path between the metal fence and the reedbeds on your right. Continue along this path to where the boardwalk ends at a gate by the lakeside.

Follow the path toward the house Y Betws with a kissing-gate and red brick boundary walls on your left. Climb up the few steps to the next field and rocky outcrops.

The path now follows the line of the bracken through the field in the direction of Ty Hen Holiday Park and through a kissing-gate.

Follow the waymarker at the gate and bear right along the lakeside (not over the stile towards the static caravans).

Walk between the rocky outcrops and gorse, and follow the yellow marker posts through vegetation to the field.

Go through another kissing-gate to the next yellow marker post, and walk down to the lakeside, passing the rocks on your right to the gated footbridge over the stream at the farthest point of the lake.

Farthest Footbridge to Post Box

Cross the bridge and follow the lakeside path to the gorse bushes on your left and some rocky outcrops. Bear left through several kissing-gates to a bungalow and a boardwalk footbridge.

The path now passes between some hawthorn trees to some clearer grassed areas, then a gate, and then on to a kissing-gate.

Follow the waymarkers down a double-track lane with reeds on your right. Turn right at the lane passing several private drives on your left until you reach the T-junction with the main road, leaving the lake area.

Post Box to Car Park

Turn right at the main road over the bridge and carefully cross the road to the public footpath sign by the post box.

Follow this tarmac lane with passing places and speedbumps, ignoring the public footpath sign to your left, and passing Pensieri Caravan Park.

Turn sharp right at the Coastal Path waymarker through the marram grass just before the houses. Then turn left at the end of the houses (or alternatively take the Coastal Path route behind the dunes) onto the beach, and turn right to enjoy a walk along Traeth Llydan’s magnificent sandy beach heading towards Rhosneigr.

When you reach the stream running from Llyn Maelog to the sea, turn right, walk upstream and cross a footbridge to a picnic area.

Follow the path towards the houses and turn right at the wall to return to your starting point.

Further information on this walk

History and interest

• ‘Rhos’ is a common prefix in Welsh place names meaning moor, and ‘neigr’ probably derives from the name Yneigr, a 5th century leader. The village became a popular holiday destination in the Edwardian era and many of its buildings date from this time.
• Llyn Maelog is a natural lake covering 26 hectares and in places is up to 3m deep. It is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and is the only officially designated Village Green in Wales that is also a lake.
• The beautiful, golden sandy beach at Traeth Llydan with its dunes and wide, sheltered bay is popular with holidaymakers, kayakers, paddleboarders and swimmers.

Wildlife

Depending on the time of year, the lake is usually teeming with birdlife: mute swans, canada geese, greylag geese, grey heron, oystercatchers, shelduck, coot, moorhen, pochard, cormorant, reed warber, reed bunting all frequent the lake, and black-headed gulls nest on the small island.

Beneath the surface there’s perch, bream, roach, rudd and pike.

Plantlife around the lake includes yellow loosestrife and the locally uncommon greater spearwort. Lesser water-plantain and flowering-rush are other rarer plants which occur around the lake’s margins.

Public transport

Rhosneigr Rail Station is located near the northern end of the lake. Public Footpaths could be taken from near the station to link to this walk.

Bus No.25 from Holyhead to Aberffraw stops in Rhosneigr, as does No.45 Llangefni to Rhosneigr. Both services run from Monday to Saturday.

Refreshments 

Rhosneigr has several cafés, pubs and shops in the village centre.

The Oystercatcher building near the dunes is a large restaurant with bars.