About

Today Fishguard prides itself as providing an excellent base from which to take advantage of all Pembrokeshire has to offer. From Fishguard's own Folk Festival on the sweeping sands of Cardigan Bay to the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and the communities of grey seals and dolphins that habitually frolic in its harbours. There are a wealth of friendly hotels and inns, including the Royal Oak where the surrender of the French was signed over 200 years ago.

Fishguard has also been regularly featured on the silver screen not only as the location for Gregory Peck’s Moby Dick, but also as Llareggub in the 1972 adaptation of Under Milk Wood, starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O’Toole.

Stena Line ferries operate from Fishguard Harbour to Rosslare in Ireland. Fishguard has a railway station two miles from the centre of the town; Fishguard & Goodwick station is on the West Wales line from Carmarthen to Fishguard Harbour.

HISTORY & CULTURE
Fishguard stands at the mouth of the River Gwaun in a natural harbour in the heart of Pembrokeshire National Park. It is likely that there had been a trading post at Fishguard long before the Normans established the permanent community which slowly evolved into an important harbour town. Fishguard became famous for exporting salt, oats and herring but trade fell away during the late 19th century and the local economy was redirected towards tourism.

In 1797 however, Fishguard was the site of an often overlooked moment in British history when it repelled what is known as the ‘last invasion of Britain’. The local residents managed to defeat and force an unconditional surrender upon an invasion party of revolutionary Frenchmen and Irishmen, a force so disorganised and desperate that one local woman, Jemima Nicholas was able to round up 12 of their party with nothing but a pitch fork. The event was immortalised in 1997 in the form of the Fishguard Tapestry, which is displayed in the Town Hall and is seen by local residents as Wales’ answer to the Bayeux Tapestry.