Starida - Puffin Island Cruises

Pleasure Cruises on the scenic Menai Strait to Puffin Island to view the bird sanctuary and seal colonies, from the Starida Kiosk by Beaumaris Pier. Starida offer not just a boat trip, but a complete guided tour with a full commentary. Beaumaris' Longest Established Pleasure Boat Cruises. Puffin Island Cruises from Beaumaris Pier - Cruise lasts approximately 70 minutes. This is a very popular pleasure cruise which includes panoramic views of the Snowdonia Mountain Range, Penmon Lighthouse and Puffin Island. On arrival at Puffin Island you have the opportunity to see as many as 12 species of sea birds in their natural habitat - Puffins, Guillemots, Cormorants & Kittiwakes. At the East end of the island we can browse over the Seal colony, giving ample time for photographs. This island is called Puffin Island in English but in Welsh is Ynys Seiriol (Seiriol's Island). The island has a number of ruins of medieval monastic buildings, including the tower of a 12th century church. It is said that St. Seiriol is buried here, and perhaps also King Maelgwn Gwynedd, who was the ruler of North Wales and patron of St. Seiriol. At the Eastern tip of the island are the ruins of the old semaphore signalling station, one of a chain of stations that signalled news of sailing ships to Liverpool & also signalled the wreck of the Royal Charter. A ship called the Rothesay Castle, on a day trip from Liverpool, sank near Puffin Island in 1831. A lighthouse and a lifeboat station were built here soon after. Menai Bridge Cruises - This cruise lasts for about an hour and departs EVERY THURSDAY at 5pm during the summer. Includes the beautiful scenery bordering the Menai Straits, Bangor Pier, Snowdonia Mountain Range, small islands, sea birds and of course Thomas Telford's world-famous suspension bridge, from which the town of Menai Bridge takes it's modern English name (the name in Welsh, Porthaethwy, means "Port of Aethwy", the Welsh name for the historic division of south east Anglesey). The bridge is the world's first modern suspension bridge and was opened in 1826 to carry the main London to Dublin road via Holyhead. The Admiralty stipulated that there should be sufficient clearance for all Royal Navy ships at all states of the tide, this being the age of sail, so the road deck was placed over 100 feet above the level of the sea. Stone from Penmon Quarry (can be seen on our Puffin Island cruises) was used to build the supporting towers and 16 massive iron chains held the road deck in place, all 579 feet of it! So impressive was this bridge that it was chosen to represent Wales on the UK's £1 coin in 2005. To book your cruise, or for more information, drop by our kiosk next to Beaumaris Pier between Easter and the end of October, give us a ring on 01248 810251 or fill in the enquiry form in the "CONTACT US" section of our website. Once you have been on our cruises, please feel free to upload your pictures to our Facebook page, and you never know, we may just feature yours on our website!