Salt Island (Holyhead)

Salt Island, known in Welsh as Ynys yr Halen, is joined to Holy Island at Holyhead in Anglesey, north Wales, and forms part of the Port of Holyhead, providing natural shelter for the town’s Old Harbour from the Irish Sea.

The island is believed to take its name from a factory once located there that processed seawater to extract salt, reflecting a small-scale industry once common along parts of the Welsh coast. In 1871, Salt Island became home to the Stanley Sailors’ Hospital, established by public subscription initially to treat sailors before it grew into a general hospital serving the wider community; the hospital was taken over by the National Health Service in 1948 and eventually closed in 1987.

Today Salt Island remains closely tied to Holyhead’s working harbour, reflecting the town’s long history as one of Wales’s most important ferry and shipping ports linking Britain to Ireland. Its combination of maritime industry and social history make Salt Island a distinctive, if little-known, part of Holyhead’s story.

Grey Seal, Harbour Seal and Puffin are among the wildlife species recorded in the surrounding area. Search Isle classes it as a saltwater island. It is one of the islands recorded in the Anglesey area.