Holy Island (not to be confused with the other island also called Holy Island: Lindisfarne) is a small island (approx. 8 miles by 4 miles) on the north-western side of Anglesey. The largest settlement on the island is Holyhead, probably most well-known for the regular ferry service to Dun Laoghaire and Dublin.
The Welsh name for the island is Ynys Cybi or, "the island of St. Cybi". There is a very high concentration of standing stones, burial chambers and other religious sites, possibly Druidic in origin, which probably contributed to it's present-day English name. Holyhead is built around the ancient church of St. Cybi, and the remains of one of Europe's only 3-sided Roman forts (the 4th wall being the sea).
Holy Island is connected to the island of Anglesey and thence to the mainland by a causeway (The Cob) carrying the A5/A55 road and main railway line between Holyhead and Chester, going on to London. The old bridge for the A5 post road is still intact, called Four Mile Bridge, not because it is four miles long, but because it is four miles from Holyhead. The island is surrounded by cliffs and jagged rocks on the western side, Holyhead is on the northern side, and the eastern side, facing Anglesey, has large mudflats and a tidal race in the middle. The southern end of the island is the most sparsely populated, and has the island's campsites and beaches, Silver Bay and Trearddur Bay being the largest.
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