Flying the flag

Benllech Beach

Here on Anglesey, we don’t just do beaches, we do award-winning beaches. After all, you’d expect an island with 125 miles of coastline to have quite a few of those.

In 2009 no fewer than 26 were recognised by relevant environmental bodies, with six achieving the highest accolade of all – a Blue flag. That’s a quarter of the total for the whole of Wales.

Twenty nine different criteria have to be met to achieve a Blue Flag. They include water quality, safety and the environment. Not that you need to know all these details when you’re sunbathing or up to your knees in a rock pool. But it’s very reassuring all the same, especially if you have children.

During the summer, many of our beaches have a team of dedicated wardens who help with beach safety, and deal with the occasional bump and scrape.

At family-friendly Benllech, or Traeth Bychan you may even catch a glimpse of our highly trained jet ski operators patrolling the waters.

Our jet ski does offer people reassurance,” says driver, Henry Griffiths. “We can cover the whole area very quickly on it and people tell us how good it is to see wardens out on the water.”

People like Jan Dejong of Preston, visiting Anglesey for the first time with wife Debbie and children Sadie (7), Dylan (5) and two-year-old Jasmine, who are busy burying each other in sand.

“It has been fantastic, I’ve really enjoyed it,” says Jan. “The beach wardens are doing everything they can to help and we’re already looking forward to a return trip.” He’ll have plenty of beaches to choose from - the sweeping sandy bays of Newborough or Llanddona, for instance, or the family hotspot of Trearddur Bay with its two Blue Flag beaches or the kite and wind surfers’ paradise at Rhosneigr.

Warden John Williams has covered most of our coastline in his time: “We have something to suit everyone from little bays and rocky coves to long sandy beaches. We even have a beach with a forest at Llanddwyn."