Although well travelled, the journey was still notoriously dangerous. The Menai Strait, or Afon Menai as it is known locally, is the sea channel that separates Anglesey from mainland Gwynedd. The bridge was officially opened on the 5th March 1850. It is a very dangerous place to swim without expert guidance! navigation of the waterway much more difficult and dangerous. ACROSS the Menai Straits, . Anglesey was at last connected to the rest of the country by rail. In 1819, a civil engineer called Thomas Telford began working on ambitious improvements to journey between London and the port of Holyhead. The strait comprises an eastern and a western reach, both trending northeast-southwest, linked by a short north-south central section. The Menai Strait (Welsh: Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about 25 km (16 mi) long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.It varies in width from 400 metres (1,300 ft) from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) from Traeth Gwyllt to Caernarfon Castle.It then narrows to 500 metres (1,600 ft) in the middle . Menai Strait Bridges. It is a tidal stretch of water that has some interesting characteristics. It extends 15 miles (24 km) from Beaumaris to Abermenai Point and varies in width between 200 yards (180 metres) and 2 miles (3 km). It is connected to the mainland by Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension bridge and Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge. It is connected to the mainland by Thomas Telford's Menai Suspension Bridge and Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge. As traffic from London to Holyhead increased by 1819, the civil engineer, Thomas Telford, was chosen to build a bridge across the Menai Strait. Menai Suspension Bridge. . Recognising the danger to travellers that crossing the Straits . The Menai Strait (Welsh: Afon Menai, the "River Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about 25 km (16 mi) [1] long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. The Menai Strait Swims Join us for this unique and rare opportunity to swoosh down the stunning Menai Strait, the narrow and dangerous channel of sea that separates the Island of Anglesey from mainland North Wales! The Strait varies in width from about 300m to three quarters of a mile. The Strait is part of the Menai Strait and Conwy Special Area of Conservation (SAC), with a rich variety of habitats including sea inlets and estuaries, mud and sand flats, lagoons, salt marsh, shingle beaches, lofty sea cliffs and submerged limestone reefs. In the end Telford decided on a suspension bridge which should clear the water by 100 feet or more - sufficient to permit the passage of a tall ship. The efforts workmen and women made to build . The stone for this bridge was, as with Telford`s bridge, quarried at Penmon. Can you swim in the Menai Straits? Photo: Paul Kirtley. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol. The Menai Strait, or Afon Menai as it is known , is the channel that separates Anglesey from mainland Wales. At its center point, the Strait is roughly 1600 feet from shore to shore, widening to over 3000 feet at either end of the Strait. The site chosen was a point where the shore on either side rises steeply and where the straits are about . One essential thing in the plans was to have clearance of a hundred feet below the bridge, to allow tall sailing ships, very popular on the Menai, to sail underneath unhindered. Telford's original design for a bridge across the Menai Strait. Menai Strait, channel of the Irish Sea separating Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Mn) county from the mainland of North Wales. For centuries, travel to Anglesey from the mainland was often hazardous. The Menai Suspension Bridge (Welsh: Pont y Borth, Pont Grog y Borth) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales.Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's first major suspension bridge. Four large stone lions were sculpted by John Thomas of . The tubes weighing in at an enormous 1500 tons were fabricated beside the Menai Straits. Flows in this thin, 25km-long channel are driven by the dynamics of how the strait starts emptying or filling from one end before or after the other end. One of the most tragic occurred in 1785 when a boat carrying 55 people became stranded on a sandbar . The Strait varies in width from about a couple hundered meters to three quarters of a mile. "For centuries, travelling to Anglesey from Wales mainland was very dangerous. The bridge still carries road traffic and is a Grade I listed structure. The tide coming from two directions creates strong currents and whirlpools which can easily sink small boats, and there are also four tides every day . The Menai Strait, or Afon Menai as it is known , is the channel that separates Anglesey from mainland Wales. The Menai Bridge is currently in the news as emergency measures were taken to preserve it after it has stood overthe Menai Strait for nearly 200 years. Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. We will guide you safely through the bubbling 'Swellies', under the two historic bridges and show you stunning views and a . T he Menai Strait separates the island of Anglesey, or Ynys Mn, from mainland Wales. The Menai Strait Posted on April 13, 2022 3 Comments The Menai Strait is the narrow body of water, approximately 16 miles long, between mainland Wales and the island of Anglesey, called Ynys Mon in Welsh. Ferries traversed the Menai Strait at various places, but the currents are tricky and numerous boats capsized or ran aground, often with loss of life. A grand winter's day out on the Menai Strait.