Fishguard Bay (Welsh: Bae Abergwaun) is a bay on the north Pembrokeshire coast, Wales. It opens north into Cardigan Bay and features rugged cliffs, tiny coves and the sheltered Fishguard Harbour and port of Lower Fishguard. Ferries from Fishguard cross to Ireland, and numerous activities are carried out in this holiday area.
Much of the bay's coastline is within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park though the developed areas of Fishguard and Goodwick are excluded. Fronting onto the much larger Cardigan Bay, Fishguard Bay stretches from Dinas Island (actually a peninsula) to Crincoed Point, three miles to the west.
Several smaller inlets pierce the bay's southern shore, whilst in the southwest it has been developed as Fishguard Harbour. The small sandy bay of Pwllgwaelod is located at its eastern extremity. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path, itself a part of the longer Wales Coast Path runs around the bay, taking a slight detour inland along its western side. The majority of the coastline is cliff and rocky shore. [1]
The main breakwater is approximately 1,000 yards (910 m) long and provides shelter for the car ferry terminal (with regular services to Rosslare Harbour) and Fishguard Lifeboat Station.
Fishguard Bay Yacht Club, founded in 1947, provides facilities for sailing, rowing, kayaking, paddle-boarding and rowing in the harbour. [2]
Boat trips operate from the harbour along the bay and beyond. [3]
The bay gives its name to a holiday park. [4]
The Pembrokeshire Coast Path, often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a 186-mile (299 km) long-distance walking route, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total of 35,000 feet (11,000 m) of ascent and descent. At its highest point – Pen yr afr, on Cemaes Head – it reaches a height of 574 feet (175 m), and at its lowest point – Sandy Haven crossing, near Milford Haven – it is just 6 feet (2 m) above low water. Whilst most of the coastline faces west, it offers – at varying points – coastal views in every direction of the compass.
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and administrative headquarters of Pembrokeshire County Council.
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 as of the 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lower Fishguard and the "Main Town". Fishguard and Goodwick are twin towns with a joint Town Council.
Ceredigion ( ), historically Cardiganshire, is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Aberystwyth is the largest settlement and, together with Aberaeron, is an administrative centre of Ceredigion County Council.
Goodwick is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard.
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales and South West England. It extends from the smaller Severn Estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city and port of Bristol.
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales.
The West Wales lines are a group of railway lines from Swansea through Carmarthenshire to Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The main part runs from Swansea to Carmarthen and Whitland, where it becomes three branches to Fishguard, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock.
Solva is a village, community and electoral ward in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village comprises principally Lower Solva and Upper Solva. The community also includes Middle Mill and Whitchurch.
Gwbert, also known as Gwbert-on-Sea, is a cliff-top coastal village in Y Ferwig community, Ceredigion, Wales. It lies at the most southerly coastal point of Ceredigion, on the eastern shore of the Teifi estuary, from where there are views westwards over Cardigan Bay, and south-westwards to Poppit Sands and the headland of Cemaes Head, in neighbouring Pembrokeshire. It is reached by the B4548 road from the town of Cardigan, 2.8 miles (4.5 km) away.
The Ceredigion Coast Path is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales. It is 65 miles (105 km) in length, running along the coast of Cardigan Bay from Cardigan (52.0810°N 4.6608°W) to Ynyslas (52.5271°N 4.0495°W).
Constitution Hill is a hill in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth, situated to the north of the town.
The North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway was a railway company in south-west Wales, incorporated to extend the moribund Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway, with a view to developing a port on Fishguard Bay and ferry services to Rosslare in Ireland.
Ceibwr Bay is a bay opening into the Irish Sea in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. It is about 7 km west of Cardigan, and 3 km south of the headland of Cemaes Head. A part of it known as the Moyle is owned by the National Trust, and lies within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
Pwllgwaelod is a small scattered hamlet centred on a bay on the south-western side of the Dinas Island peninsula. It is in the community of Dinas Cross between Fishguard and Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Many of the properties within the hamlet of Pwllgwaelod are holiday cottages.
Dinas Island is a peninsula, partially detached from the mainland, in the community of Dinas Cross between Fishguard and Newport, Pembrokeshire, in southwest Wales. A triangulation point shows 466 feet (142 m) above sea level at Pen-y-fan. Although Dinas Head is the northernmost part of the promontory where the cliffs meet the sea, the name is sometimes loosely used to refer to this highest point. Dinas Island is contained within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and the headland is under the care of the National Trust.
Fishguard and Goodwick is the name of a community that wraps around Fishguard Bay, on the northern coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It comprises the two towns of Fishguard and Goodwick, with their neighbourhoods of Dyffryn, Harbour Village, Penyraber, Lower Town, and Stop-and-Call. Within the community are two railway stations and Goodwick Ferry Terminal, which is the terminus of the A40 London to Fishguard Trunk Road.
Cemaes Head is a headland and nature reserve in north Pembrokeshire. It lies in the community of St Dogmaels, within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. To the west and north it overlooks Cardigan Bay, and to the east Cardigan Island and the estuary of the River Teifi.
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).
