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Menai Bridge

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Menai Bridge

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Menai Bridge (Welsh: Porthaethwy) is a town on Anglesey, Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford.

It has existed as Porthaethwy for many centuries and it still has a house in current use which dates from the 17th century. It is likely that a community has existed at the location of Menai Bridge since Roman times simply because this is the shortest crossing of the Menai Strait. There is still a range of interesting buildings including the old court house, a number of old pubs and the buildings associated with the wood-yard.

The large car park to the north of the high street is the fair field. This is a common piece of land set aside for the holding of an annual fair. When the fair comes to Menai Bridge in late October it takes over the fair field and most of the other roads and streets in the town making passage through the town very difficult. This is an ancient tradition which attracts people from across the island who ignore the generally inclement weather to enjoy the traditional fair rides.

A television company has acquired a row of shops in the centre of Menai Bridge as a film set for a children's programme Rownd a rownd shown on the Welsh language channel - S4C.

At the western edge of the town is Cwm Cadnant Dingle which is now by-passed by a modern bridge constructed in the 1970s. The Afon Cadnant joins the Menai Strait at this point and this small estuary provides a natural haven for small boats crossing from the mainland. This was the location of the landing stage for the Bishops of Bangor who had their residence at Glyn Garth on Anglesey but whose cathedral was in Bangor, Gwynedd. Regrettably, the Bishop's palace has been destroyed in recent years and replaced by an execrable block of flats.

There are a number of small islands in the Menai Strait some of which are connected to the town by causeways, including Ynys Faelog, Ynys Gaint and Ynys Castell east of the suspension bridge and Church Island (Ynys Tysilio in Welsh) west of the bridge.

Menai Bridge has a wide selection of churches and chapels including a most unprepossessing catholic church. The town also has a primary school and a large comprehensive school - Ysgol David Hughes.

Attractions in Menai Bridge include the 14th-century Church of St Tysilio, St Georges Pier and a butterfly house - Pili Palas.

 Pubs/Bars:
 The Anglesey Arms

Mona Rd
Menai Bridge
Isle of Anglesey
Gwynedd
LL59 5EA
01248 712305

 Auckland Arms Hotel
Water Street
Menai Bridge
Gwynedd
LL59 5DD

 The Bulkley Arms
Uxbridge Square
Menai Bridge
Isle of Anglesey
Gwynedd
LL59

 The Four Crosses
Pentraeth Road
Menai Bridge
Gwynedd
LL59 5RW

 Gazelle Hotel
Glyn Garth
Menai Bridge
Gwynedd
LL59 5PD

 Liverpool Arms Hotel
St Georges Road
Menai Bridge
Gwynedd
LL59 5EY

 The Victoria Hotel
St Georges Pier
Telford Rd
Menai Bridge
Isle of Anglesey
Gwynedd
LL59 5DR
01248 712309

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