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.
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 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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