A short visitor's guide to Holywell, Flintshire: things to do, places to eat and drink, and what's on through the year.
Holywell (Welsh: Treffynnon) is a market town in north-east Flintshire, sitting on the western side of the Dee estuary in north-east Wales. The town and its surrounding community, which takes in neighbouring Greenfield down on the shore, look across the estuary towards the Wirral and sit a short drive from both the North Wales coast and the Clwydian Range.
Most visitors come for one thing: the holy well that gives the town its name. The shrine has drawn pilgrims for centuries and remains the headline attraction in town, with a small clutch of independent pubs, cafes and a community museum lining the High Street nearby. The coast is on the doorstep too, with the foreshore at Llannerch-y-môr only a few minutes away.
Holywell's headline attraction is also the reason the town exists. The National Catholic Shrine of St Winefride on Greenfield Street is one of the great pilgrimage sites of Britain, drawing visitors year-round to its bathing pool and pilgrim chapel. The shrine sits within the parish of Greenfield just down the hill from the town centre.
A short walk away on the same street, St James church has a history reaching back to the sixth century. After a recent restoration the building has been reimagined as a community well-being centre, with the historic fabric still on show alongside a coffee area and quiet space.
Holywell's outdoor options sit a short stroll from the High Street. Fron Park, just off Park Lane, is the town's main green space: a quiet park and garden useful for an hour out with children or the dog after a wander round town.
For something more unusual, Greenhill Alpaca Trekking at Greenhill Farm in nearby Greenfield offers walks with the herd through the surrounding farmland, a low-key family-friendly half-day. Closer to the centre, the Memorial Garden on Panton Place is a small, carefully kept garden tucked into the town. From the eastern edge of town the lanes climb up onto higher ground towards Whitford, an easy onward walk for anyone who likes lanes and field paths.
For a wet afternoon, the Holywell Leisure Centre on Gwenffrwd Road has a swimming pool and the usual mix of fitness facilities, and is the obvious wet-day fallback for families staying in town.
For something quieter, the Holywell Area Community Museum on the High Street is run by volunteers, offers free entry and pairs a small local-history display with a coffee shop and retail area. It's the kind of place where you can drop in for half an hour, learn something about the town's pilgrimage and lead-mining past, and leave with a slice of cake.
Holywell's pubs cluster along the High Street and Cross Street, all within a short walk of one another.
The Market Cross at the top of the High Street is the busiest in town and the easy first port of call: a traditional pub-and-grill setup with hundreds of regular reviews. The Stamford Gate Hotel on Halkyn Road, technically out towards Bagillt, is the gastropub option, with a kitchen serving modern Welsh fare and modest rooms upstairs if you decide to stay over. Old Wine Vaults on Cross Street is the community local: live sport, weekend entertainment, pool, darts, quiz nights and a sizeable beer garden. The Boars Head further along the High Street and The Feathers Inn on Whitford Street round out the town-centre options for a quieter pint.
If you're travelling with a dog, look out for our dog-friendly holiday cottages in Holywell.
Holywell's eating-out scene is built around long-running takeaways and a handful of sit-down options on the High Street. The town leans more towards a quick supper than a destination kitchen, but there's enough variety for a few days' stay.
For fish and chips, Maggie's Kitchen up on Pen-Y-Ball Hill is the most reliable name in town, with Davies' Chippy on the High Street the alternative if you're already in the centre. For Chinese, Fu House on the High Street has the strongest local reputation, with Tak Bo Takeaway on Halkyn Street as the second option. Bengal Balti on Whitford Street covers Indian. For something different, Holywell Kebab & Burger House on Cross Street is the late-night kebab and burger stop, and The Burnt Sausage on the High Street is a quirky little daytime cafe doing breakfast and lunch with private events in the evenings.
Holywell's cafes are split between the High Street and a couple of more unusual spots out of town.
The most distinctive is the Tea Rooms at the Pet Cemetery at Brynford, a few minutes' drive from the centre. The setting is quirkier than the food, but the tea rooms have built up an enormous following over the years and are a favourite stop for visitors heading on towards the Clwydians. Back in town, Marmalade on the High Street is the town-centre favourite for freshly baked bread, cakes, doughnuts, sandwiches and proper coffee. The Hole in the Wall Kiosk on Coleshill Street is the takeaway-coffee stop for anyone heading off for a walk.
Holywell is straightforward to reach by car or by public transport, though the railway station is no longer in town itself.
By train, the nearest station is at Flint, around five miles (eight kilometres) away, on the North Wales Main Line. Transport for Wales runs services from Flint through to Holyhead, Llandudno, Chester, Shrewsbury, Birmingham International, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, so onward connections from most parts of the UK are reasonable.
By bus, Arriva Buses Wales runs a regular service on route 11 between Holywell and Chester, calling at Flint railway station along the way. For visitors arriving by rail, the bus is the easy onward link into town.
By car, Holywell sits just off the A55 North Wales Expressway, the main coastal trunk road between Chester and Bangor; the town centre is a short drive off the dual carriageway. Allow a little extra time on summer weekends and around the June pilgrimage.