Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
34.7km²
Area
78km
Coastline
220m
Highest point
Holyhead Mountain
13,659
People
15°C
Warmest sea
September
426km
To the mainland
When to go to Holy Island
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in September (15 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island next to the island of Anglesey, Wales
Holy Island is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to British Isles. It covers 34.7 km², with 78 km of coastline. Its highest point, Holyhead Mountain, rises to 220 m. About 13,659 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 426 km away.
Getting there
- Isle of Man Airport (IOM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 89 km in a straight lineCar hire at DUB airport (Dublin)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries3 ferry terminals on the island
- 426 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Holy Island.
- 32beachesTraeth Llydan, Porth Dafarch, Newry Beach and 29 more
- 4viewpointsSouth Stack Lighthouse Viewpoint and 3 more
- 2lighthousesHolyhead Mail Pier Light, South Stack Lighthouse
- 3ferry terminalsIrish Ferries, Stena Line, Terminal 1
- 1marinasHolyhead Marina
- 1named peaksHolyhead Mountain
- 2castles and fortsWorld War II Pillbox, Caer Gybi Roman Fort
- 24ruins and archaeological sitesTŷ Mawr Hut Circles, Telegraph Signal Station, Trefignath Chambered Tomb and 21 more
- 1waymarked walking routesIsle of Anglesey Coastal Path
- 25campsitesOutdoor Alternative, Hafod-Y-Plas Caravan and Camping, Parc Carafannau Pwll Preban and 22 more
- 39hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 37restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Holy Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Holy Island, each with its own numbers.
3mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
220m
Holyhead Mountain
prominence 220 m · according to Peakyas
3 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Holyhead Mountainprominence 220 m220m
- Tre-wilmotprominence 40 m77m
- Hirfronprominence 62 m64m
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 25 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 90 %0–50 m
- 10 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Holyhead11,431 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 108 | 89 | 81 | 63 | 65 | 72 | 79 | 94 | 92 | 122 | 127 | 131 |
| Wet days | 18 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 19 |
| Sun h/day | 1.2 | 2.6 | 4.5 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 6.0 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 33 | 30 | 27 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 29 | 31 | 32 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.4 | ±0.0 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Anglesey
United Kingdom677 km²166 m16 km away
Isle of Man
Isle of Man568 km²608 m108 km away
Bardsey IslandUnited Kingdom1.8 km²163 m60 km away
Great BritainUnited Kingdom228,938 km²1,344 m158 km away
Calf of ManIsle of Man2.5 km²123 m87 km away
Ireland
Ireland84,421 km²1,039 m220 km awaySt Patrick's IsleIsle of Man0.05 km²106 m105 km awayBarry IslandUnited Kingdom41 m229 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1831562) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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