Holyhead Mountain (''Mynydd Twr'' in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

: from ''(pen)twr'', meaning "tower") is the highest mountain on

Holy Island, Anglesey Holy Island ( cy, Ynys Gybi, 'the island of (Saint) Cybi') is an island () on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, Wales, from which it is separated by the Cymyran Strait. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of ...

, and the highest in the county 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 ...

, north

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 ...

. It lies about two miles west of the town of

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 ...

, and slopes steeply down to the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

on two sides. Ireland can be seen from here on a clear day and the mountain is an important site for seabirds.

The mountain

Holyhead Mountain is located on

, jutting out into the

. At , it is the highest mountain in the county of Anglesey, being higher than Bodafon Mountain () on the main island. On the east side of the mountain is the site of a late

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

watchtower called '' Caer y Tŵr'' (Tower Fortress), from which Holyhead Mountain's Welsh name is derived. Holyhead Mountain also has the remains of a group of Iron Age huts near its foot. This shows evidence of being occupied in the middle part of the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

, the

Neolithic Age 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 ...

, the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and the Iron Age. There are traces of field systems and the bases of dry-stone walls of twenty huts, and there are a number of

standing stones 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 stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...

in the vicinity. The summit of the mountain is rocky, quartzite, and the slopes clad in heather. There is an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

called

Caer y Twr Caer y Twr (meaning 'fort of the pile/heap') is an Iron Age hillfort atop the summit of the Holyhead Mountain in Anglesey, Wales. The hillfort, which is situated among rocky outcrops, is ideally placed for defence and likely served as a watcht ...

. The material for the

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...

at 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 ...

was quarried from the limestone areas of the northeastern side of the island, with seven million tons of limestone being removed from long establishedFootsteps through tiime, the rocks and landscape of Anglesey Explained, Campbell, Wood and Windley, 2014 quarries to form the longest breakwater in Britain, at nearly long. On the mountain are also the remains of a

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by s ...

s, which closed in 1973. Specialist bricks produced here were also used in construction of the breakwater. Holyhead Mountain attracts many visitors, and it is also located close to

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 ...

lighthouse; many people come to see the variety of birds that nest along the cliff faces near South Stack. Views from the summit are extensive, especially to the west, where the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...

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 ...

can often be seen across the

on clear days. Birds that nest here include

Atlantic puffin The Atlantic puffin ('), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin is found in the northeastern ...

s, stonechats and

Eurasian oystercatcher The Eurasian oystercatcher (''Haematopus ostralegus'') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widesp ...

s, and

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

s can be seen offshore during the summer.

Gallery

Holyhead Mountain Trig Point - geograph.org.uk - 10549.jpg,

Trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

at the top of the mountain. Hut circle, Holyhead Mountain. - geograph.org.uk - 1149808.jpg, Prehistoric hut remains on the lower part of the mountain. View from the summit of Holyhead Mountain - panoramio.jpg,

Holyhead Breakwater Holyhead Breakwater is situated at the north-western end of Holyhead in Anglesey in North Wales. The Victorian structure, which is long, is the longest breakwater in the United Kingdom. The breakwater, which is accessible in good weather, has ...

and harbour from the mountain. View north, from Holyhead Mountain - geograph.org.uk - 1412073.jpg, North face of the mountain. Holyhead, the Mountain and the Breakwater. - geograph.org.uk - 363805.jpg, The mountain from the west coast of

. Sunset on Holyhead mountain.jpg, Sunset over the mountain. Main entrance to the Celtic fort on the summit of Mynydd Twr (Holyhead Mountain), Wales15.jpg, Main entrance to the Celtic fort.

References

External links

Ancient Britain - Holyhead Mountain Hut Group

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Holyhead Mountain and surrounding area
Marilyns of Wales Mountains and hills of Anglesey Highest points of Welsh counties Trearddur