Goodwick

Goodwick
Pembrokeshire
Part of Goodwick Sea Front
Location
Grid reference:	SM945381
Location:	52°0’11"N, 4°59’31"W
Data
Post town:	Goodwick
Postcode:	SA64
Dialling code:	01348
Local Government
Council:	Pembrokeshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Preseli Pembrokeshire

Goodwick is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard.

The town's name is said to predate the Norman / English settlement of Pembrokeshire but to be from the Norse language spoken by the seaborne hordes which raided this coast and settled and traded from the 10th century. If this is so, the name may derives from the Old Norse forms: góð vik ('good creek'). Alternatively it might simply be English for "Good village".

Goodwick was a small fishing village in the parish of Llanwnda, but in 1887 work began 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 centred around Milford Haven.

Fishguard Harbour

19th-century view of Goodwick Square

The harbour was constructed by blasting 1.6 million tonnes of rock from the hillside to make a 3,000-foot long breakwater. The quarried-out area became the quay. The harbour was finally opened on 30 August 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 the Irish port of Rosslare.

The RNLI operate an all weather Trent class lifeboat, the Blue Peter VII, and a class D inshore lifeboat from within the harbour.

In October 2011 plans for Fishguard & Goodwick Marina were revealed in the Western Telegraph. The developers Conygar who hope to invest £100 million into the project have submitted plans to the 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 alongside 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.

Transport

The re-opening of the station, 14 May 2012

Fishguard & Goodwick railway station served local rail travellers 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 in 1964. After this, trains only served Fishguard Harbour and the station fell into disrepair. Following investment from Network Rail, the station has been re-built and was reopened for passengers again, on 14 May 2012. It is served by the boat trains and the newly introduced local trains.

As mentioned above, the harbour is used by ferries to Rosslare Europort in County Wexford, Ireland. In 2013, the conventional ferry MS Stena Europe has two sailings each way per day, one around lunch time and one in the dead of night. The Stena Lynx III fast ferry operated in the summer only until the end of the 2011 season. Her schedule, for instance 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 alternately from Harbour Village or Stop-and-Call to Fishguard town hall. Two Fishguard - St Davids bus routes also pass through the town.

Stop-and-Call

Originally a separate settlement, Stop-and-Call has now become contiguous with Goodwick. It sits at the point where Goodwick Hill begins to level out after climbing 300 feet in about half a mile 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, which dates from around 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, and he made landfall near Enniscorthy in County Wexford.

The achievement was commemorated in Centenary Celebrations held in Fishguard and Goodwick on the weekend of 21/22 April 2012 and in a specially commissioned stage play by Derek Webb, called '100 Minutes' which was performed in Fishguard and Wexford the same week.

Outside links

• Pictures of Goodwick and the area on Geograph.co.uk
• Images of the proposed new marina development
• Images of the proposed new marina development (overhead view)