Holy Island ( cy, Ynys Gybi, 'the island of (Saint)

Cybi Saint Cuby (in Cornish) or Saint Cybi (in Welsh) was a 6th-century Cornish bishop, saint and, briefly, king, who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales: his biography is recorded in two slightly variant medieval 'lives'. Life in Cornwal ...

') is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

() on the western side of the larger

Isle of Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island, ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, from which it is separated by the

Cymyran Strait {{Location map, Wales Anglesey, mark=Green_pog.svg , lat=53.2820021, long=-4.5845404, width=250, float=center , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location ...

. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...

burial chamber A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could a ...

s, and other religious sites on the small island. The alternative English name of the island is Holyhead Island. According to the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

, the population was 13,659, of which 11,431 (84%) lived in the largest town,

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

History

Holyhead, the Mountain and the Breakwater

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s invaded Anglesey following the end of Roman rule in

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

Cunedda Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda ''Wledig'' ( 5th century), was an important early Welsh people, Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe. Name The n ...

first began warfare against the Irish but ultimately

Cadwallon Lawhir Cadwallon ap Einion (c. 460-517 or 534), usually known as Cadwallon Lawhir ('Long Hand') and also called Cadwallon I by some historians, was a Welsh ruler around 500. Cadwallon was the son of Einion Yrth and Prawst ferch Deithlyn. He is often co ...

defeated the Irish on Holy Island.

Natural features

There are a variety of natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s on the island including

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s, dunes,

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es, and

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es. Practically nothing is left of the oak forest that covered almost all of the island before the arrival of

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

farmers. The western side of the island is taken up mainly by

Holyhead Mountain Holyhead Mountain (''Mynydd Twr'' in Welsh: from ''(pen)twr'', meaning "tower") is the highest mountain on Holy Island, Anglesey, and the highest in the county of Anglesey, north Wales. It lies about two miles west of the town of Holyhead, and s ...

, an area of maritime heather moor, which is the highest peak in the county at . Just off the coast by the mountain are located two islands

North Stack North Stack ( Welsh: Ynys Arw, meaning "rugged island") is a small island situated just off Holy Island on the north-west coast of Anglesey. The area has been an important location in the development of traditional climbing in Britain and has s ...

and

South Stack South Stack ( cy, Ynys Lawd) is an island situated just off Holy Island on the northwest coast of Anglesey, Wales. Geology South Stack is an island known as a sea stack. It was formed by the wave erosion of sedimentary rocks that once conne ...

, upon the latter stands a lighthouse. Whilst most of the coastline is rocky there are sandy beaches at

Trearddur Bay Trearddur or Trearddur Bay ( cy, Bae Trearddur) is a village, seaside resort and community south of Holyhead on the west coast of Holy Island off the north-west coast of Anglesey in Wales. The community includes the small settlement of Penrho ...

and

Penrhos Country Park Penrhos Country Park (also known as Penrhos Coastal Park) () is a country park near Holyhead, on the island of Anglesey in Wales, United Kingdom. The park attracts approximately 100,000 visitors each year. It was opened in 1971 on the former ...

. Due to the rocky nature the island has seen more of its fair share of

shipwrecks A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

through the years. The coastal zone between the island and the mainland of Anglesey is a large site of special scientific interest – Beddmanarch–Cymyran.

Transport

Holy Island, Anglesey 1-250,000 OS map 2010

Holy Island is connected to Anglesey by two road links. The first, the Stanley Embankment, is made up of causeways carrying the A5 and A55. The second is the much older original link, Four Mile Bridge. The Stanley Embankment also carries the

North Wales Coast Line The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, ...

which terminates at the island's only railway station, in Holyhead. The

Port of Holyhead 300px, Just inside the 'New' harbour at Holyhead port., alt=Port of Holyhead From geograph.org.uk 8 October 2007 The Port of Holyhead ( cy, Porthladd Caergybi) is a commercial and ferry port in Anglesey, Wales, handling more than 2 million pass ...

has passenger and freight ferries which travel to

Dublin Port Dublin Port ( ga, Calafort Átha Cliath) is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Buses from the island run to

Amlwch Amlwch (; ) is a port town and community in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. As well as Amlwch town and Amlwch Port, other settlements within the c ...

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, maki ...

and Bangor amongst other places. Around of the

Anglesey Coastal Path The Anglesey Coastal Path (formally the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path) is a long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in North Wales. The route is part of the Wales Coast Path. Description The path mainly follows the c ...

is on Holy Island.

National Cycle Route 5 Route Reading to Birmingham Didcot , Abingdon-on-Thames , Radley , Oxford , Banbury , Stratford upon Avon , Bromsgrove , Birmingham Route 5, as signposted between Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham, runs via Bromsgrove and at the latte ...

and

National Cycle Route 8 The route passes through the heart of Wales, and is also known by its Welsh name Lôn Las Cymru (''English: Wales' green lane''). It is largely north–south from Holyhead to Cardiff or Chepstow, and in total measures some in length. Some of ...

traverse the island. The nearest airport is

Anglesey Airport Anglesey Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Ynys Môn) is an airport owned by the Isle of Anglesey County Council on land leased from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The airport is situated at Llanfair-yn-Neubwll in Anglesey, Wales. The leased ...

a few miles away on the Anglesey mainland and provides daily flights to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. The nearest major airport is

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated fr ...

, away.

Sport & Tourism

There are three

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

teams in the

Welsh football league system The Welsh football league system (or pyramid) is a series of football leagues with regular promotion and relegation between them. While most Welsh clubs play in the Welsh pyramid and most clubs in that pyramid are Welsh, five Welsh clubs play ...

on the island, Holyhead Hotspur, Caergybi and Trearddur Bay. The New Oval ground is home to the Ynys Môn football team and hosted the finals of the

2019 Inter Games Football Tournament The 2019 Inter Games Football Tournament was an association football tournament which was held between 15 and 22 June 2019 in Anglesey, Wales. It was organised due to the hosts of the 2019 Island Games, Gibraltar being unable to run a tournament ...

. There is also a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

side and a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. Holyhead Park contains

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

greens, three public

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts and a

skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...

. Like the rest of Anglesey, owing to its exposed location in the Irish Sea,

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

is popular. Many people staying on Holy Island do so short term whilst waiting for the ferries to

. As such the largest hotels (

Travelodge Travelodge (formerly TraveLodge) refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and several countries in Asia. However, many of t ...

and

Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...

) are located close to the A5/A55 roads. Centred in Holyhead but dotted around the island (especially

and

Rhoscolyn Rhoscolyn is a village and Community (Wales), community located on Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales. It is just over five miles south of Holyhead and is the most southerly settlement on the island. The name Rhoscolyn is said to mean "The Moor" ''(Rho ...

) are quite a number of smaller

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

hotels and

caravan parks A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true ...

for people who may wish to stay longer. Attractions in the area include

South Stack Lighthouse The South Stack Lighthouse is built on the summit of a small island off the north-west coast of Holy Island, Anglesey, Wales. It was built in 1809 to warn ships of the dangerous rocks below. History The lighthouse has warned passing ships of t ...

and the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

reserve close by, the Breakwater Country Park, the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

museum and walks up

Schools and Governance

There are six

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s and one

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi is a secondary school in Holyhead, Anglesey. It claims to be the first comprehensive school in England and Wales, opening in 1949 as Holyhead County School. History The school was formed in 1949 with the amalgamation of ...

, which lays claim to being the first

Comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

in England & Wales.

Tertiary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

can be found at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, some away on the Welsh mainland. Along with the rest of Anglesey Holy Island is part of the Ynys Môn UK Parliament constituency and the Ynys Môn Senedd constituency. At a local level it is run by

Isle of Anglesey County Council The Isle of Anglesey County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn) is the local authority for the county of Anglesey, one of the principal areas of Wales. Since 2022 the council has 35 councillors who represent 11 multi-member electoral wards. His ...

. Holy Island returns 6 of the 30 councillors to the county council, 3 for Caergybi (Holyhead town centre and surrounds) and 3 for Ynys Gybi (the southern extremes of Holyhead town and the more rural south).

Holyhead Town Council Holyhead Town Council is an elected community council serving the town of Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales. Background Holyhead Town Council was created in 1974 with the demise of Holyhead Urban District Council and the transfer of many of its powers ...

is made up of seven electoral wards who return 16 councillors and appoint a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and deputy mayor annually.

References

External links

Holy Island protected site
{{Islands of Anglesey