Goodwick

Part of Goodwick Sea Front

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.

Fishguard Harbour

Certificate of the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company

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.

Fishguard & Goodwick Railway Station

The remains of Fishguard & Goodwick Railway Station in 2007

Goodwick Railway station was opened by the Great Western Railway Company on 1 August 1899 and was a terminus until the railway was extended to Fishguard Harbour in 1906. The station was called Goodwick until 1 May 1904 when it was renamed Fishguard & Goodwick.

The station was closed on 6 April 1964 by British Railwayswhen local trains between Fishguard and Clarbeston Road were withdrawn, however, there are hopes that the station may re-open soon if a report proposes an increase in services on this line.

After closure to normal passenger trains the station remained in use for workmen's trains to the RNAD depot at Trecwn, until these services were withdrawn on 1 August 1964. From 18 June 1965 the station became the terminus of a motorail service from London, the end loading dock behind the former main (up side) platform being used for unloading the cars. These motorail, car-carrying services kept the station in use each Summer season until the service ended on 19 September 1980, at the end of the season, and were not re-started the following Summer. The station had a final use during June of 1982 when the railway lines at Fishguard Harbour were moved and re-laid.

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. A map dating from 1891 shows the area as being moorland, with very few buildings; at this time it was in the parish of Llanwnda. Kelly's Directory for 1895 does not mention the Stop-and-Call nor does it appear on a map which dates from ca. 1850.

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.

The main industry is now tourism, although in the town's industrial past, brick making was an important industry. Some fishing takes place on a small scale although most activity is centered around Milford Haven.

External links

• Photos of Goodwick and surrounding area on geograph