Penmon, four miles north-east of Beaumaris at the easternmost tip of Anglesey, holds two of the island's finest sights side by side. The Augustinian priory of St Seiriol was founded in the sixth century and rebuilt in stone in the twelfth — the Romanesque nave and crossing are remarkably well preserved, and the carved Celtic cross now standing inside is one of the finest in Wales. A dovecote of around 1600, with nest holes for a thousand birds, stands in the field beside the church.
A toll lane continues from the priory to the headland at Trwyn Du, where the lighthouse stands offshore and the views across to Puffin Island are at their best. A simple café in the old deer-park serves tea and crab sandwiches; in summer the whole stretch fills with day trippers, but in autumn or winter it can feel like the end of the country.