Holyhead’s biggest
Parc Gwledig Morglawdd Caergybi
Park or garden
47 ha (116 acres)3.9 km of path
50 minto walk all 3.9 km of path
66 pitchesfootball pitches would fit
1.1 mi north-westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Photo: Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors Grade
Outdoors in Holyhead · parks, paths & countryside
Holyhead is on the coast
The sea makes up 62% of the area within 5 km. The Ynys Mon/anglesey National Landscape reaches the edge of Holyhead. Parks and playing fields in Holyhead add up to 3.4 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Holyhead grades A for the outdoors: #1 of 13 in Gwynedd. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Green space
3.4 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical UK town 2.1
Near a park
78%
of residents within 400 m
Typical UK town 83%
Footpaths
54 km
2.3 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical UK town 3.0 per km²
Protected landscape
31%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Ynys Mon/anglesey National Landscape
The sea
62%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors town is Holyhead?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast62% of the area within 5 km is sea; 27 beaches mapped.Protected countryside31% of the land within 5 km is Ynys Mon/anglesey National Landscape.Room to roam3.4 ha of parks and playing fields per 1,000 residents, more than 75% of UK towns.
Holyhead’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by protected countryside on the doorstep.
Outdoors grade
Holyhead grades A for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Holyhead, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
A
Better than 92% of UK towns#1 of 13 in Gwynedd · 8th of 60 UK towns its size
Public green space3.4 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
75out of
100
100
A park within a walk78%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
42out of
100
100
National Park or National Landscape31%of the land within 5 km
84out of
100
100
Footpaths2.3 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
39out of
100
100
The sea62%of the area within 5 km
100out of
100
100
Graded, never part of the overall grade (like History and Civic life). It measures what is mapped: OS Open Greenspace leaves out woodland and open-access land that isn’t a park, and OpenStreetMap’s rural paths are more complete in some places than others.
Towns its size
Holyhead is 8th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 11,200 to 12,400 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Outdoors score: the share of UK towns each one beats
Footpath, km per km²
Holyhead2.3
Towns its size2.9
Gwynedd towns1.8
All UK towns3.0
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Holyhead3.4
Towns its size1.9
Gwynedd towns1.8
All UK towns2.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Holyhead78%
Towns its size84%
Gwynedd towns83%
All UK towns83%
Against towns its size, Holyhead stands out most for park space per resident: only 12 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on path per km², where 43 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tring Hertfordshire | A+ | 5.7 | 95% | 4.8 | 57% |
| 2 | Snodland Kent | A+ | 7.7 | 97% | 4.4 | 44% |
| 3 | Chepstow Gwent | A+ | 1.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 30% |
| 4 | Minehead Somerset | A+ | 1.4 | 95% | 4.3 | 47% |
| 5 | Weybourne Surrey | A+ | 7.1 | 86% | 6.1 | 14% |
| 6 | Brockworth Gloucestershire | A+ | 2.5 | 95% | 5.1 | 46% |
| 7 | Waltham Cross Hertfordshire | A | 10.6 | 100% | 5.6 | 0% |
| 8 | Holyhead Gwynedd | A | 3.4 | 78% | 2.3 | 31% |
| 9 | Southwick West Sussex | A | 1.1 | 100% | 2.6 | 34% |
| 10 | Emsworth Hampshire | A | 2.3 | 56% | 3.7 | 51% |
| 11 | Sandown Isle of Wight | A | 1.4 | 74% | 4.5 | 28% |
| 12 | Killingworth Tyne and Wear | A | 4.7 | 97% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 13 | Dawlish Devon | A | 2.1 | 93% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 14 | Bradwell Norfolk | A− | 2 | 80% | 2.7 | 31% |
| 15 | Matlock Derbyshire | A− | 2.9 | 76% | 4.7 | 20% |
| 16 | Conisbrough South Yorkshire | A− | 5.3 | 99% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 17 | Bridport Dorset | A− | 0.9 | 75% | 3.7 | 71% |
| 18 | Barton-upon-Humber Lincolnshire | A− | 5.9 | 97% | 1.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Cleckheaton West Yorkshire | B+ | 3.3 | 98% | 3.7 | 0% |
| 20 | New Milton Hampshire | B+ | 2.3 | 75% | 1.9 | 38% |
| 21 | Blandford Forum Dorset | B+ | 2.1 | 90% | 2.2 | 72% |
| 22 | Haslemere Surrey | B+ | 1 | 78% | 5.1 | 80% |
| 23 | Bentley South Yorkshire | B+ | 3.4 | 100% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 24 | Worsley Greater Manchester | B+ | 4.7 | 86% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 25 | Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire | B | 2.4 | 70% | 2.9 | 53% |
| 26 | Oxted Surrey | B | 2.1 | 84% | 2.8 | 28% |
| 27 | Buckhurst Hill Essex | B | 4.5 | 64% | 6.3 | 0% |
| 28 | Littleborough Greater Manchester | B | 5 | 85% | 3 | 0% |
| 29 | Warmsworth South Yorkshire | B | 2.7 | 79% | 4.7 | 0% |
| 30 | Shirebrook Derbyshire | B | 1.8 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 31 | Sandbach Cheshire | B− | 2.5 | 87% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 32 | Helston Cornwall | B− | 1.3 | 61% | 2.7 | 21% |
| 33 | Ystrad Mynach Gwent | B− | 5.4 | 85% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 34 | Honiton Devon | B− | 1.3 | 90% | 2 | 73% |
| 35 | Chigwell Essex | B− | 2.9 | 64% | 4.5 | 0% |
| 36 | Mossley Greater Manchester | B− | 0.9 | 74% | 4.5 | 14% |
| 37 | Wells Somerset | B− | 1.7 | 65% | 3.4 | 26% |
| 38 | Lymm Cheshire | B− | 3.6 | 89% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 39 | Leatherhead Surrey | B− | 1 | 72% | 3.9 | 24% |
| 40 | Ince-in-Makerfield Greater Manchester | B− | 2 | 74% | 5.1 | 0% |
| 41 | Kingsteignton Devon | B− | 1.9 | 95% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 42 | Bolsover Derbyshire | C+ | 1.9 | 85% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 43 | Stanwell Surrey | C+ | 1.4 | 93% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 44 | Sandy Bedfordshire | C | 0.9 | 76% | 5.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Towcester Northamptonshire | C | 1.3 | 77% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 46 | Featherstone West Yorkshire | C | 2 | 77% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 47 | Bridgnorth Shropshire | C− | 2.4 | 66% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 48 | Attleborough Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 93% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 49 | Haverfordwest Dyfed | C− | 1 | 85% | 1.4 | 8% |
| 50 | Oakham Rutland | C− | 1.8 | 86% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 51 | Downham Market Norfolk | C− | 1.5 | 77% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 52 | Cheadle Staffordshire | C− | 1.7 | 90% | 1.4 | 0% |
| 53 | Market Drayton Shropshire | C− | 1.5 | 88% | 1.5 | 0% |
| 54 | Codsall Staffordshire | C− | 1.4 | 84% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Sarn Mid Glamorgan | D | 1.8 | 75% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 56 | Desborough Northamptonshire | D | 0.6 | 69% | 2.7 | 0% |
| 57 | Wetherby West Yorkshire | D | 0.5 | 14% | 3 | 0% |
| 58 | Thorne South Yorkshire | D− | 1.6 | 65% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Tonyrefail Mid Glamorgan | D− | 0.7 | 48% | 1.1 | 0% |
| 60 | Watton Norfolk | D− | 0.5 | 28% | 1.4 | 0% |
The map
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Holyhead’s built-up area.
Green space: parks, gardens, playing fields and play spaces, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · Contains OS data © Crown copyright · Natural England / NRW
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Holyhead
The biggest is Parc Gwledig Morglawdd Caergybi, 47 ha (116 acres). Directions go to the park’s nearest public entrance where Ordnance Survey maps one.
Maes Chwarae V J Owen
Play space
0.3 ha (1 acres)
0.8 mi westfrom the centre
Directionsto the nearest entrance
Close to home
8 in 10 Holyhead residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
Within 400 m (78%)Further (22%)
Holyhead78%
Towns its size84%
Gwynedd towns83%
All UK towns83%
About 2,600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 13 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 904 residents.
National Parks & National Landscapes
National Parks and National Landscapes around Holyhead
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the built-up area; circle size shows each one’s area. National Landscapes were called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty until 2023.
National ParkNational LandscapeThe 5 km the grade counts
National Landscape
Ynys Mon/anglesey
At the edge south-west219 km²since 196731% of the land within 5 km
31% of the land within 5 km of Holyhead is National Park or National Landscape, more than 83% of UK towns.
Footpaths & waymarked walks
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Holyhead
54 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Holyhead and the kilometre around it, 2.3 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
Regional
Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path23.6 km
The regional route here is the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
When to get out
The best walking months in Holyhead: May to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 71 | 63 | 61 | 58 | 52 | 58 | 60 | 70 | 76 | 100 | 110 | 93 |
May is the driest month (52 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 110 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 10 nights a year. The climate in Holyhead →
The coast
The coast and beaches near Holyhead
62% of the area within 5 km of Holyhead is sea. 27 beaches are mapped within 5 km, 8 with a name.
Newry Beach0.1 mi from town
DirectionsTraeth Penrhos0.2 mi from town
DirectionsPrivate Beach0.4 mi from town
DirectionsPorth Dafarch0.9 mi from town
DirectionsTraeth y Gribin1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPorth Castell1.7 mi from town
DirectionsPorth Tywyn-mawr2.0 mi from town
DirectionsPorth Dre-fadog2.5 mi from town
DirectionsSea: the area outside the ONS coastline (mean high water). Bathing water quality is published by the Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales; check it before swimming.
Things to do
3 viewpoints and 13 playgrounds
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK town its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
3Viewpoints3× towns its size1Hills and peaks2Picnic sites13Playgroundsabout the same as towns its size1Dog parks5Campsites3Slipways
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 3
Plus 3 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Hills and peaks 1
Mynydd Twr220 m (722 ft) · 0.5 mi from town
DirectionsPicnic sites 2
Plus 2 picnic sites without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 13
Plus 13 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Y Bark Dog Play Parkin town
DirectionsCampsites 5
Valley Of The Rocks Campsite0.5 mi from town
DirectionsTy Mawr Farm Campsite0.8 mi from town
DirectionsTan-y-Graig1.1 mi from town
DirectionsBlackthorn Farm Campsite1.1 mi from town
DirectionsPlus 1 campsite without a name on the map.
Slipways 3
Plus 3 slipways without a name on the map.
Next door
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
ValleyBodedernCemaesLlanerchymeddHolyhead
ABCDOutdoors Grade
| Town | Outdoors | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Near a park | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holyhead | A | 3.4 | 78% | 31% |
| Valley 3.2 mi | B+ | 5.0 | 33% | 37% |
| Bodedern 5.6 mi | B | 1.2 | 100% | 16% |
| Cemaes 10.4 mi | A+ | 5.0 | 100% | 14% |
| Llanerchymedd 10.8 mi | C | 4.2 | 64% | 4% |
Cemaes, 10.4 miles away, grades A+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park.
Questions about the outdoors in Holyhead
What is the biggest park in Holyhead?
Parc Gwledig Morglawdd Caergybi, 47 ha (116 acres), with 3.9 km of path. Maes Chwarae V J Owen (0.3 ha) is second. 2 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the town or within 400 m of it.
Is Holyhead near a National Park?
It covers 219 km² and was designated in 1967.
What are the best walks near Holyhead?
1 waymarked walking route passes within 2 km of the town, including the Isle of Anglesey Coastal Path. Parc Gwledig Morglawdd Caergybi alone has 3.9 km of path.
How many people in Holyhead live near a park?
78% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical UK town is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Holyhead?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Holyhead good for walking?
Paths are thinner than most towns: 2.3 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 39% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 75% (3.4 ha per 1,000 residents).
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Holyhead’s overall grade.
Sources
Where Holyhead’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, 16 October 2026.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Historic England, National Heritage List for England, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: ONS Census 2021 output areas.
- Grade: TownRatings’ Outdoors Grade, ranked against UK towns only.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.