St Dona in Llanddona, Beaumaris, Anglesey

**NEW** A warm welcome to Champing™ in WALES!! We are very pleased to offer you our newest partner church, St Dona’s – an active church with a small but warmly welcoming community and all from glorious north Wales!

To be honest, we’d rather keep this one a secret – mostly because we don’t want anyone else to know about such as idyllic spot! When you come and stay, you’ll feel like you’ve got it all to yourself, although you’ll probably want to share your Champing experience with friends, and you’ll no doubt receive a cheery hello from the locals too! Sleeping overnight at St Dona’s will be an experience to remember, with a wealth of beautiful places to explore on your doorstep. In fact, our bags are packed already!

St Dona’s is a simple church in a stunning location. A church was first built here in 610, dedicated to St Dona who lived on the seashore nearby. The present building dates from 1873 and is about a mile away from the village of Llanddona. The village is a mixture of traditional farms and permanent residences. Llanddona itself is four miles from the historic town of Beaumaris and easily accessed via the North Wales Expressway (A55) which connects the area with Chester, Liverpool, and Manchester.

The church nestles in the hillside overlooking Llanddona beach with views of Red Wharf Bay and Benllech in the distance. The highlight of the interior of the church is a stained-glass window added in 1963, depicting Christ with sea in the background (centre), St Curig (left) and St Dona (right). St Donas is part of the St Seiriol Ministry Area.

Llanddona Beach – has a colourful history and here are three of its claims to fame:

Legend has it that a boatful of men and women, all with Irish accents, were washed up on the shores of Llanddona. Were they really witches? Who knows? But there are dozens of stories about the Llanddona Witches,  included the fabled Bella Fawr and Siani Bwt.

William Ellis Williams was the first Professor of Electrical Engineering in the University of Wales, and in 1910 designed and built his own aeroplane in Bangor, using Llanddona Beach and ‘The Aeroplane Shed’ as a base and test site.

Just across the beach at Red Wharf Bay, in 1947 Maurice Wilks sketched the first design of the ionic Land Rover on the sand to show his brother his idea for an all-terrain vehicle.

Nowadays, the beach is peaceful and quiet with the only Land Rovers in sight being those of visitors in the car park!

Coastal Path – the church is just off the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path. Visitors can walk for miles along the beach, swimming or enjoying the wildlife, bird watchers will be delighted by the varieties that can be seen.

Local Artists – Sir Kyffin Williams who is known as one of the defining Welsh artists of the 20th century particularly liked painting the cottages and scenery of the village – a visit to Oriel Môn (11 Miles) is recommended where you can see some of both his work and also Charles Tunniclife’s famous wild life art.

Eating Out – there are no shops in the village but there’s a welcoming pub, Owain Glyndwr, which serves home cooked food and real ales. Also within walking distance there is a beach café (seasonal opening) and a public convenience. There’s a good selection of shops, restaurants, and pubs in Beaumaris (4 ½ miles) and many other restaurants and pubs across the island. For supermarkets etc. you will need to visit Bangor (10 Miles) or Llangefni (11 Miles) although there is a branch of Waitrose at Menai Bridge (8 Miles).