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Camping Gear 
Prints of North Wales Scenes 
Road Maps 
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Rhoscolyn, Holyhead, Gwynedd LL65 2NJ
Tel: 01407 860267
THE last time I ventured down the constricted lane to Rhoscolyn’s magnificent beach on windswept Holy Island’s western shores, a lump filled my throat on passing where the White Eagle Inn of my youth stood.
More of a construction site than the laid-back watering hole it once was, the rather rickety but comforting place of old was undergoing a major revamp.It was with an even bigger lump in my throat that I returned. The place in its new guise first swung open its freshly-varnished doors some 12 months ago, but would the modernisers’ saw, hammer and trowel have stripped it of its rustic charm?
The answer is both yes and no. Given a thoroughly modern make-over, it’s certainly not your traditional seaside Inn, where you’d expect Jolly Jack Tars to be teetering on their prosthetics by the bar and musty fishing nets to be dangling from the ceiling.
Far from it. Which is a shame as far as the traditionalist in me is concerned. But, as they say, one man’s meat...
As far as modern pub lay-outs go, the White Eagle’s is pleasing enough. The bar to the left is light and airy, panoramic windows offering vistas out to the cream-topped waves of the Irish Sea, and huge skylights projecting natural light in all directions. Another bar to the right lies unused this afternoon.
Given its isolation, although in reality only five miles from Holyhead’s bustle, it’s comfortably busy for mid-afternoon. Many of the patrons would seem to be local, most seemingly having called in more for food than drink.
The menu is extensive, with specials chalked up above the bar, including today lamb-burger and chips (£9) and a traditional chicken dinner (£10.95).
Not that the bar doesn’t offer more than its share of delights, including a choice of malt whiskies that would have your typical Highlander drooling over his bagpipes.
The choice of four cask beers include Cheshire brewery Weetwood’s Eastgate Ale, brewed to celebrate the centenary of Chester’s famous Eastgate clock.
The pub is a popular halt amongst walkers on the Anglesey Coastal Path, as it makes its way from the rocky coves of Trearddur, and goes out of its way to provide ramblers with a warm welcome.
The substantial boardwalk terrace standing like a ship’s bridge above the beer garden offers stunning views over Anglesey’s pancake-flat countryside across the bay to Snowdonia’s peaks.
The terrace however is deserted, unsurprisingly given the chill wind whipping in, negating the sun’s best efforts at providing some heat.
I head back inside with pint glass in hand, now nicely chilled, and inspect a display of photographs tracing the history of the Timpson chain of cobblers, established by the same family as the White Eagle’s owners.
