Posts from — September 2009

A Holyhead cruise visit is becoming ever more popular with major cruise lines which offer cruising holidays around the waters of the UK and Ireland. Holyhead on Anglesey is a major UK passenger ferry port to Ireland and has excellent port facilities for large cruise ships looking to offer their passengers exciting and interesting places to visit.

As the longest sea wall in Britain, Holyhead Breakwater offers cruise ships great shelter from the open sea. Cruise liners anchor in a sheltered spot with plenty of draught just behind the breakwater and Anglesey Aluminium jetty in the outer harbour. Meanwhile, if required the local boatyard can provide tug cover for the cruise liner.

This location is ideal for cruise liners over 250 metres in length as the prevailing winds are from the south west, and it is in the lee of the town and harbour. By ships tender it is less than a mile from this anchorage to the Fish Dock landing on the east side of the inner harbour, where coaches can take guests to the various attractions across the island and further afield.

On your journey north up the Bristol Channel and past Milford Haven in South West Wales you can take in the amazingly beautiful panoramas of the Cambrian coast. After passing Bardsey island and Lleyn peninsula you reach Anglesey, with its long sweeping sandy beaches from Llanddwyn, where Demi Moore shot some of her movie Half Light, to Trearddur Bay with its sailing flotillas. Just north of here on Holy Island is the famous South Stack lighthouse, outside Holyhead.

A number of Holyhead ferries sail to Dublin, the Irish capital and to Dun Laoghaire. The port of Holyhead now hosts some of the largest cruise ships in Europe, with cruise lines such as Noble Caledonia, Oceana Cruises and Holland America visiting with increasing frequency, attracted by the rich and diverse historical and natural attractions for their passengers. The largest cruise ship to visit Holyhead so far is the 48,000 tonne Seven Seas Voyager, which can carry up to 750 passengers.

Plans are advanced for using the Anglesey Aluminium jetty as a more convenient embarkation facility, which will attract ever larger cruise ships otherwise bound for the larger ports at Dublin and Liverpool. The aim is for Holyhead to accommodate ships of around 85,000 tonnes and so using this pier would be a great plus. It is likely that for an upgrade of Holyhead port facilities an investment of around 7 million is needed, and around 500,000 of this would help upgrade the jetty.

With as many as 70 cruise ships operating in Northern European waters, a Holyhead cruise destination will be an attractive option for cruise ship passengers following this extra investment in port infrastructure. The “Celtic Wave” marketing initiative led by Anglesey, joins together the main Irish Sea ports of Holyhead, Dublin, Waterford, Cork and Swansea and Milford Haven. It is underpinned by a 1.2 million investment and its objective is to attract bigger cruise ships and more visitors to these ports.

There are so many attractions rich in history to visit it may be hard to choose. You may want to visit the nearby historic castles of Wales, at Beaumaris on Anglesey and Caernarfon and Conwy on the mainland, all UN World Heritage sites. Or perhaps seeing the last working mill in Wales at Llynnon appeals to you, or appreciating the Rex Whistler canvas at Plas Newydd, near Llanfairpwll. Or you may be keen to stretch your legs on the Anglesey coastal path. These and more will draw more visitors to choose a Holyhead cruise destination in future.