Crap Towns / Gwynedd / Holyhead
Holyhead
77/100Crap Score
224th crappest of 984 towns. It's the less crap of the two ranked towns in Gwynedd. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
Holyhead. Get the ferry.
Ferries to Dublin, a long breakwater and a high street that's shut.
Holyhead is where you get the ferry to Dublin, and most people do, sharpish. The town centre's shut shops because everything moved out to the retail park, and there's nowhere to eat at night. There are 19 pubs, over three times the typical town's per head, so there's somewhere to drink while you wait for the boat.
Anti-social behaviour comes in at twice the typical town's rate. Anglesey's fly-tipping runs at five times the typical Welsh council's, and sewage goes in the water for six times the typical town's hours. It gets 1,721 hours of sunshine a year, which lights the lot up nicely. Locals call it Holydead. They're not wrong.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Holyhead's 98 for fly-tipping means it's crapper than 98% of towns.
- Fly-tipping98/10052.7 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Isle of Anglesey council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Anti-social behaviour93/10028.9 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Sewage spills91/1001,676 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson84/10010.5 per 1,000 people a year, September 2023 to August 2026
- Broadband76/1003.1% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 32.4% across the Isle of Anglesey council area
- Rain66/100139 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Deliberate fires50/100
- Serious road collisions15/1001.3 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
- Food hygiene14/1000.8% rated 0 to 2, of the 125 food businesses with a rating
- Air pollution1/1003.2 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 4.3 of fine particles, 2024 average
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor | 82 |
| 2 | Holyhead | 77 |
Holyhead by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 109 crimes per 1,000 people a year (September 2023 to August 2026) Worse: 43% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 23 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Worse: 19.6 per 10,000 people, 5.8x the typical town's 3.4
- 1 of 2 bathing waters here or within 2 km rated Excellent in 2025
What's left on the high street
- 19 pubs, 4 hairdressers, 2 charity shops, 1 bookmaker, 3 banks on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 0.0% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (0 of 20) Better: Against the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 bank branch closure announced since 2022 Worse: 8.5 per 100,000 people, 2.5x the typical town's 3.4
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Better: 1.7 per 10,000 people, 6% higher than the typical town's 1.6
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- midnight last bus out on a Wednesday About the same: About the same as the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.2% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Better: 60% lower than the typical town's 0.5%
- 24.9% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,721 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Better: 12% higher than the typical town's 1,532
Isle of Anglesey council
Have a crap-off
Holyhead against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.