Beaumaris is one of the best Anglesey trips from Llandudno because it combines history, views and a pleasant small-town feel without making one work excessively hard for any of them.

The castle, built from 1295 by Edward I, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered the most technically perfect concentric castle ever built in Britain. It was never completed (the money and political will ran out before the final stages were finished), which is an irony that military history does not always pause to enjoy.

The castle is famous for being unfinished, which is a wonderfully human quality in a fortress. Still, its symmetry and setting make it memorable, and it has the dignity not to over-explain itself.

The concentric design (an inner ring of walls and towers enclosed by an outer ring with a moat) represents the theoretical perfection of castle design: every attacking approach covered, every defensive position mutually supporting. The garrison could operate the whole system with a relatively small force. That it was never put to the test is either a shame or a mercy depending on one’s perspective.

The town also offers Georgian streets, independent shops, places to eat and views across the Menai Strait towards the mountains. The strait here is narrow enough to feel intimate and wide enough to make Snowdonia look simultaneously accessible and dignified.

Beaumaris works best as a relaxed day rather than a rushed stop. It has enough to occupy you, but not so much that you must behave like a courier.

The Beaumaris gaol, a Victorian prison now open as a museum, gives a sobering view of nineteenth-century incarceration that contrasts usefully with the Georgian townscape outside it. Both are part of the same period; the gaol simply reveals an aspect the townscape prefers not to dwell on.

Pair it with Penmon, Menai Bridge or a short coastal drive if you want more. But do leave time to sit by the water. The view is not an accessory. It is the point.

There is something satisfyingly composed about Beaumaris. It knows it has history, sea and good angles, and feels no need to shout. A lesson some resorts might consider.

From Llandudno, Beaumaris is approximately forty-five minutes by car via the A55 and the Menai Bridge. It can be combined with Penmon Priory and the Penmon lighthouse for a full Anglesey day on the eastern shore.