Young people at play, overlooking Holyhead’s harbour area. Will this generation see any significant change in the future? Will their futures remain within the town, even? Economic decline has become a way of life in the area and being a trade thoroughfare doesn’t necessarily equate to local prosperity.

One of the frequent roll-on-roll-off ferries departs for Dublin, viewed from the town’s breakwater. Leaving the EU will have a significant impact on how freely goods can travel between between the UK and EU. How this will practically be implemented is still uncertain. A new truck park was established on the outskirts of the town and plans to stack freight lorries on the incoming A55 expressway are mooted. Ironically, the A55 is also known as the E22 Euroroute, part funded by EU money.

Rooftop parking space at the town’s Tesco supermarket. The omnipresent chimney of the now-closed and once crucially busy Anglesey Aluminium plant can be seen from most of the town. The plant is partly active as an aluminium recycling facility, though many other projects such as a biomass plant have never materialised. It’s a similar story in the region as a whole.

Mary has led a fascinating and productive life, dedicating herself to helping others. From nursing as a young lady, to becoming a missionary and travelling alone to Albania with books for schoolchildren when it was still effectively a closed country. Active in her local church, she’s a passionate advocate for her religion, but leading by example. I asked her what was in her trolley? - ‘Food for the local food bank’.

Talking to the lady who served me, she remarked that tourists sometimes came to the shop asking where the town centre was. She told me how her heart sank when she would tell them that ‘this IS the centre’.

Love it or hate it, pebbledash is ubiquitous in the town. There’s no getting away from it, but sunlight lifts the soft tones from time to time. For all buildings on the Isle of Anglesey, the battle against the windy, rainy, coastal climate in never ending.

It was an honour to meet Ben and take his portrait after he’d paused to let me take a photograph from the other side of the road. He was visiting the town from nearby that day. I asked him about his sunglasses and he explained they were to help with his autism by cutting down an overload of visual information. Subsequently, this portrait was published in the landmark book, Portrait of Britain 2019. I was delighted to be able to present Ben with a copy as a thank you.

Irene personifies Holyhead for me. Independent, forthright, knowledgeable of the town’s history and connected with the entire community. It was a great pleasure to document her shop, unchanged over many decades and talk to Irene about her craft. A subsequent post about Irene and her shop on Twitter went viral with over 94,000 views. Tributes came in from all over the world as well as the local community and many women identified with her strong character.

An interior view of Irene’s historic shop, featuring pictures including her father, a member of Holyhead’s whaling fleet.

Like many young people in the town, Owain was drawn towards the harbour in his spare time for some sea angling. A conversation about the day’s catch (or lack of) is always good conversation starter when gaining the views of strangers.

The Fishing Quay in Holyhead is a fully working fishing harbour, with produce being regularly offloaded. Youths will often be seen jumping from the high harbour walls into the sea in summer, while anglers fish from the quayside. Workshops carry out repairs and maintenance jobs all year round.

A Welsh-speaking native of Holyhead, Emrys was leaving his regular pub to mount his bicycle and ride home. He was happy to oblige for a portrait as I took advantage of how his clothes coordinated with the pub. Holy Island, being an island off the Isle of Anglesey itself, has a rich mix of Welsh, Irish and English people. The Second World War even bought Dutch sailors to the town, where 116 married local women. International connections naturally abound, interwoven with Holyhead’s unique heritage, dating back to pre-history.

Looking towards the ferry terminal, the town’s future remains unclear. Is change coming and will it be for the better?

A view close to the town centre. A feature of sharing images from this project on social media has resulted in many messages with local information shared, such as there being a diverted river running just below the cellar of this building.