Goodwick
Goodwick (Welsh: Wdig) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard. Goodwick was a small fishing village in the parish of Llanwnda, but in 1887 work commenced on a railway connection and harbour, and the village grew rapidly to service this. The main industry is now tourism although in the town's industrial past brick making was once an important industry. Some fishing still takes place on a small scale but most activity is centered around Milford Haven.
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[edit] Fishguard Harbour
The harbour was constructed by blasting 1.6 million tonnes of rock from the hillside to make a 900 m long breakwater. The quarried-out area became the quay. The harbour was finally opened on August 30, 1906. Planned to be the end of the Great Western Railway's line and its major sea port, replacing Neyland, problems with the harbour (known as Fishguard Harbour) prevented larger ocean liners from docking. Accordingly the harbour has a smaller inner breakwater protecting the remaining open side.
RMS Mauretania visited once in 1909 although passengers had to board by tender when transferring to and from the London train. The smaller breakwater was built as part of the preparations for the visit of the RMS Mauretania and is sometimes known as the "Mauretania Mole". The breakwater lead to unanticipated silting, and the prospect of future visits from larger liners was abandoned. Directly above the harbour is a small estate known as "Harbour Village", built to house workers during the construction of the harbour.
The port now accommodates a ferry and seasonal fast catamaran service to Rosslare operated by Stena Line.
The RNLI operate an all weather Trent class lifeboat, the Blue Peter VII, and a class D inshore lifeboat from within the harbour.[1]
In October 2011 plans for a new marina were revealed in the Western Telegraph. The developers Conygar who hope to invest £100 million into the project have submitted plans to Pembrokeshire County Council for a 450 berth marina, 253 new residential apartments and a 19 acre platform for the potential expansion of the existing Stena Line port. The scheme would also create a publicly-accessible promenade and waterfront, and visitor parking as well as workshops, stores and ancillary facilities. If approved most of the proposed new developments will be sited by reclaiming land from the sea bed within the two existing breakwaters mainly near the current 'Ocean Lab' and along side the existing ferry terminal access roads. Conygar have also exchanged contracts to acquire an eleven acre site for a lorry stop and distribution park on the perimeter of the Stena Line owned port.[2][3] [4]
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[edit] Transport
Fishguard & Goodwick railway station served local rail travelers from the town, and from nearby Fishguard, until the line was effectively closed to such passengers by the reduction in service to boat trains only. After this, trains only served Fishguard Harbour.
As mentioned above, the harbour is used by Stena Line ferries to Rosslare in Ireland. In 2011, the conventional ferry has two sailings each way per day, one around lunch time and one in the dead of night. The Stena Lynx fast ferry operates in the summer only which in the 2010 season consisted of a morning departure to Rosslare and a late afternoon arrival into Fishguard harbour.
The town is served by the Fishguard town service bus, which runs alternatly from Harbour Village or Stop-and-Call to Fishguard town hall. Two Fishguard - St Davids bus routes also pass through the town.
[edit] Stop-and-Call
Originally a separate settlement, Stop-and-Call has now become continuous with Goodwick. It sits at the point where Goodwick Hill begins to level out after climbing 100 metres in about 1 km from the centre of Goodwick.[5] A map dating from 1891 shows the area as being moorland, with very few buildings;[6] at this time it was in the parish of Llanwnda. Kelly's Directory for 1895 does not mention the Stop-and-Call[7] nor does it appear on a map which dates from ca. 1850.
[edit] Early Aviation
The first successful flight from Britain to Ireland was made from Goodwick's Harbour Village on 22 April 1912 by Denys Corbett Wilson, flying a Bleriot XI. The flight lasted one hour 40 minutes, with landfall near Enniscorthy, Ireland.
[edit] References
- ^ "Lifeboat Station : Fishguard". RNLI. http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/west/stations/FishguardPembrokeshire/.
- ^ http://www.conygar.com/Project/Fishguard/4 CONYGAR website, Plans and Gallery of images
- ^ http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/news/9313532.Planning_submitted_for___100m_Fishguard_marina_plan Western Telegraph article; Planning submitted for £100m Fishguard marina plan
- ^ http://www.fishguard-today.co.uk/news.cfm?id=39538&headline=%E2%80%98Exciting%E2%80%99%20new%20plans%20for%20Goodwick%20marina%20submitted%20to%20county%20council County Echo; marina plans
- ^ Photograph at Geograph
- ^ Ordnance Survey, 6 inch map of Pembrokeshire, 1891
- ^ Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire & S Wales, 1895
[edit] External links
- Photos of Goodwick and surrounding area on geograph
- Images of the proposed new marina development
- Images of the proposed new marina development (overhead view)
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