The Midweek Ledger: What a Black Lion Weekend Really Costs
There is a particular kind of holiday maths that goes like this: you book a room, you budget for a couple of pints, and then the bill arrives and you wonder where the extra £80 came from. This is not that article. What follows is a plain-spoken ledger for a weekend at the Black Lion on Ynys Môn — the sort of numbers you can actually plan around, with the caveat that prices move and seasons matter. Think of it as a friend who has been before, telling you what to expect rather than what to dream.
The Room: The First Line of Any Ledger
Room rates at the Black Lion sit in the middle of the Anglesey pub-with-rooms pack. For 2026, a standard double on a Friday and Saturday in spring or autumn typically lands somewhere between £130 and £170 a night, breakfast included. Midweek in January or February, the same room can drop to £95–£120. That is the single biggest lever you have. Two nights midweek can cost less than one weekend night in high summer, and you still get the same fire, the same bar, the same walk down to the water.
Caveat: school holidays, bank holidays and the odd wedding party will push rates up. Book direct and ask what is included. Some rates bundle breakfast; some do not. A £10 difference in room rate is rarely worth losing a cooked breakfast over.
The Bar Tab: Pints, Plates and the Odd Extra
A decent pint of local ale at the Black Lion is around £4.50–£5.20 in 2026. A glass of house wine is £5.50–£6.50. If you have two rounds each evening — say four pints and two glasses of wine between two people — you are looking at roughly £35–£45 a night. Add a packet of crisps or a bar snack and call it £50.
Dinner is separate. Pub mains are mostly £14–£19, with the roast at the higher end. A shared starter, two mains, and a couple of drinks will land around £55–£70 for two. That is not cheap, but it is honest cooking in a proper bar, and you are not paying city prices.
The trap is the extra round you did not plan. A nightcap, a coffee, a bottle to take upstairs. Budget £10–£15 a night for the while-we-are-here spending and you will not be surprised.
Breakfast, Roast and the Meals That Anchor the Day
If breakfast is included, use it. A full cooked breakfast at the Black Lion is a proper plate — bacon, sausage, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, toast — and it sets you up for a coastal walk far better than a garage pasty. If it is not included, expect £10–£12 per person.
Sunday roast is the other anchor. For two, with drinks, budget £45–£55. It is a lunch that doubles as dinner if you walk it off in the afternoon. That is the kind of maths that makes a weekend feel generous without being extravagant.
Parking, Petrol and the Cost of Getting There
Parking at the Black Lion is free for guests — check when you book, but that is the usual arrangement. Public car parks nearby vary: expect £4–£8 for a day in places like Rhosneigr or Beaumaris. If you are driving from the north of England or the Midlands, petrol is the wild card. A round trip of 300 miles in a normal car is roughly £40–£55 at 2026 prices. Train to Holyhead and a taxi or bus is possible, but it limits the spontaneous cove-hunting.
The Free Stuff (and Why It Matters)
The best part of an Anglesey weekend costs nothing. The coastal path from the Black Lion's doorstep is free. Llanddwyn beach, the dunes, the headland at Rhoscolyn, the old stones — no ticket, no turnstile. A walk, a flask, a bag of apples: that is a whole morning for under a fiver.
This is where the budget balances out. You can spend £70 on dinner and still feel like the weekend was good value because the daylight hours were spent outside, not in a queue for an attraction. The island rewards people who pack boots and a raincoat.
The Off-Season Lever: Midweek, Not May
The difference between a midweek February break and a weekend in August is not just money; it is texture. The pubs are quieter, the paths are emptier, and the fire is more welcome. Rates are lower, and you are more likely to get the room you want. The trade-off is weather. But a wet walk and a long lunch is still a weekend, and the Black Lion is built for exactly that.
If you can shift your dates by 48 hours, you can save £70–£100 on two nights and spend it on a better bottle of wine or a second roast. That is the honest budget advice: move the dates before you trim the fun.
A Sample Ledger for Two (Midweek, Off-Season)
Two nights' bed and breakfast: £220
Dinner Friday (shared starter, two mains, two drinks): £60
Drinks Friday bar: £25
Saturday breakfast: included
Saturday lunch (soup and sandwich): £25
Saturday dinner: £65
Drinks Saturday: £30
Sunday roast for two: £50
Parking and petrol (local): £20
Total: £495
That is a comfortable weekend, not a frugal one. Swap one dinner for a pub snack and a walk, and you are at £430. Go in high summer and add £80–£120 to the room line alone.
Where to Spend, Where to Save
Spend on the room with the fire if it is cold. Spend on the roast. Spend on one good bottle rather than three mediocre ones. Save on lunch — a loaf, some cheese, a flask — and eat it on a wall overlooking the sea. Save on parking by walking from the door. Save by booking Tuesday to Thursday.
The Black Lion is not the cheapest weekend in Wales, and it is not trying to be. But it is honest, and a bit of honesty in the planning stage means you can relax when you get there. That is worth more than a discount code.
