Anglesey

About

Anglesey ( ANG-gəl-see), or Ynys Môn (Welsh: [ˈənɨs ˈmoːn]), is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the majority of the county of the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island to the west and some islets and skerries. The county borders Gwynedd across the Menai Strait to the south-east and is otherwise surrounded by the Irish Sea. Holyhead is the largest town, and the administrative centre is Llangefni.

The county has an area of 275 square miles (712 km2) and had a population of 69,097 in 2024. Holyhead is on the north coast of Holy Island. Llangefni is in the centre of Anglesey; other settlements include Amlwch on the north coast and Beaumaris, Menai Bridge and Llanfairpwllgwyngyll on the Menai Strait. The economy of the county is mostly based on agriculture, energy, and tourism, the latter especially on the coast. Holyhead is also a major ferry port for Dublin, Ireland. The county has the second-highest percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales, at 57.2%, and is considered a heartland of the language. The county is part of the preserved county of Gwynedd.

The island of Anglesey, at 261 square miles (676 km2), is the largest in Wales and the Irish Sea and the seventh largest in Britain. The northern and eastern coasts of the island are rugged, and the southern and western coasts are generally gentler; the interior is gently undulating. In the north of the island is Llyn Alaw, a reservoir with an area of 1.4 square miles (4 km2), which supplies drinking water to the northern half of the island. Holy Island has a similar landscape, with a rugged north and west coast and beaches to the east and south. The two larger islands are surrounded by smaller islands; several, including South Stack and Puffin Island, are home to seabird colonies. Large parts of the county's coastline have been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Since 2015 the whole county has been designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark for its unique and wide-ranging geology.

The county has many prehistoric monuments, such as Bryn Celli Ddu burial chamber. The medieval House of Aberffraw, which ruled the Kingdom of Gwynedd until 1283, originated on Anglesey and maintained courts on the island at at Aberffraw and Rhosyr. After the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, Beaumaris Castle was constructed at the south-eastern corner of Anglesey; today it is part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd World Heritage Site. During the nineteenth century the Menai Strait to the mainland was spanned by two bridges: the Menai Suspension Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford in 1826, and the Britannia Bridge, originally designed by Robert Stephenson in 1850.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.