The Town with Two Harbours

Fishguard is at the Mouth of the River Gwaun and is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The town of Fishguard is divided into two parts Lower Fishguard and Upper Fishguard. It is near the mouth of the river Gwaun, which flows into Fishguard Bay.

The town itself was once a rope making centre.

There are two harbours in the town the picturesque old fishing harbour at Lower Town and the Irish Ferry harbour at Goodwick. The Stena Line offers a ferry service from the town to Rosslare in Ireland. Stena Line, is one of the world's leading ferry companies.

The lifeboat is based in the harbour and seals and dolphins are sometimes seen in the bay but are more numerous just off the coast.

The port of Fishguard Harbour is not actually in Fishguard, but was moved to Goodwick a mile away at the start of the last century though the Fishguard moniker remained has remained.

The Tourist Information Centre is located at the Town Hall in the centre of town. It was built around 1836 by Fishguard Market Company. The Town Hall was once used to hold open-air weekly markets until 1934 when they became covered.

The lifeboat is based in the harbour and seals and dolphins are sometimes seen in the bay but are more numerous just off the coast.

The lower harbour was the setting for the filming of Dylan Thomas Under Milkwood starring Richard Burton. Some of the scenes from the film Moby Dick were also shot here. Local fishermen and pleasure boats add to the attraction.

There is a choice of hotels, pubs, restaurants and cafes with several pubs providing entertainment at weekends.

The town is famous for its historic French invasion in 1797, led by a wayward American intent on attacking Bristol. The town was forced to fend off the might of 1400 men with only a small army, including approximately 400 women dressed in their Welsh costume of red cloaks and tall hats.

One of the many famous, or infamous, men that grew up in the area was Bartu Ddu, or Black Bart. Born in 1682 at Little Newcastle, 6 miles from Fishguard, he was probably the most successful pirate of all time. In less than 4 years he captured over 400 vessels and amassed a fortune of over fifty million pounds in todays money.

Oriel Glan y Mor Gallery is located in the town, which has recently evolved into a major centre for Welsh art. It has many original paintings of the beautiful Pembrokeshire coast, with seascapes and landscape paintings of the local hills. speciality