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Wales: Bay watch beauties

TOP-NOTCH: Trearddur Bay

And two of them are but a pebble's throw from the Trearddur Bay Hotel, where we took the kids for a short break. So after unpacking and a quick spot of lunch in the hotel's welcoming Inn at the Bay, there was no question as to our first destination.

Our two and five-year-old girls led the procession, dragging Mum and this lifelong landlubber along for the ride.

It was an idyllic afternoon that almost belonged to a different generation.

While the jets from nearby RAF Valley provided a spectacular backdrop, we were busy crabbing in rock pools, exploring the many nooks and crannies dotted along the craggy shoreline, fitting in a spot of beach cricket, paddling in the shallows in a small inflatable dinghy, before rounding things off with runny ice creams for all. Perfect.

And the treats didn't stop there for the kids.

Impressive

Before relaxing in our impressive family room, we took the chance to cool off in the hotel's impressive indoor heated swimming pool in the lush three acres of private gardens.

Then there was the hotel itself, boasting 36 uniquely appointed bedrooms, half of which benefit from sea or garden views along with bay-facing balconies. And at the end of a fun-filled, energetic day, unwinding on the balcony while the kids slept was the perfect way to unwind.

Meanwhile, the hotel's staff and management couldn't have made us or the children feel more welcome.

The top-notch food also went down a treat with the majority of a wide range of dishes being sourced from the best-quality local produce.

Though the temptation is just to stay within the confines of the hotel and its surrounding bay, for those who know it, Anglesey has much to offer the more adventurous families, as we discovered the following day when we drove to the fascinating Anglesey Sea Zoo near Brynsiencyn.

The zoo houses an amazing collection of marine life and was a massive hit. Wales's largest marine aquarium, it boasts over 50 species. From the invertebrates in the Bone Free Zone, our tour took us through a Shipwreck, a walk over the Shark Pool and then on to the wonders of the Open Ocean.

Tropical displays include piranhas and seahorses. Zoo staff are also actively involved in seahorse conservation while children are encouraged to learn more about the life of a lobster at the Lobster Hatchery of Wales.

Stunning

For first-time visitors such as ourselves, one of the biggest shocks about the island was its stunning coastline and nowhere better illustrated this than our trip to South Stack Lighthouse, close to Treaddur Bay.

For the kids it was the chance to test Mum and Dad's nerve by way of a gravity defying 400-step descent down the rock face, as well as providing some comic relief for the army of twitchers who descend on the location to witness the wide variety of birds attracted to this unique habitat, including puffins, choughs and guillemots.

Having successfully negotiated the drop to South Stack Island, we were then put through our paces again as we scaled the summit of the lighthouse.

We were rewarded with some breathtaking vistas of Anglesey's north western coastline.

And the sight of some of the UK's more spectacular feathered friends obviously had quite an impact on five-year-old Alice as she persuaded us to sign her up for junior membership of the RSPB before, reluctantly, we made our way back home via one last stop at Trearddur Bay Beach.

The only complaint about the whole weekend was that there simply wasn't enough time to see and do all that we wanted to.

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