Fishguard Bay Hotel (formerly ‘Wyndcliffe’) is situated on a levelled shelf on the steep, rocky slope above the west side of Fishguard Harbour, with panoramic views across the bay towards Dinas Head. It is notable for its extensive terraced and wooded Edwardian Gardens, laid out to complement the Great Western Railways hotel.

The gardens lie mainly on the steep slope above the hotel, with smaller areas on the same level to its south-east and north-east. The gardens were mainly developed, with the hotel, between 1900 and 1910 though the earlier house had ornamental gardens in the mid-nineteenth century. The grounds are largely wooded, both above and below the hotel, and to its north the steep slope becomes a cliff. The main area of the gardens lies on the steep slope to the north, west and south-west of the hotel, bounded by a high stone wall and occupying the slope up to the lane to Harbour Village which bounds its west side. This area is entered through an iron gate on the west side of the forecourt, and up steps to a zig-zag path which climbs the steep slope. The ground is densely wooded, with some fine specimen coniferous and deciduous trees in the lower part and a deciduous canopy in the upper part. Laurel and rhododendron form an extensive understorey but their unrestricted growth has made parts of the gardens inaccessible. The lower part of the gardens is divided into two main areas: the northern half, which was purely ornamental and the southern half, which originally contained the utilitarian gardens and a tennis court. Above is deciduous woodland.

Paths up and along the slope pass water features ornamented with water-worn rockwork, associated with rills and pools, some with remnants of ornamental planting. To the north-east of the hotel, linked by a path, is the pavilion (or ‘The Shack’), with panoramic views of the harbour and bay. Below the pavilion is the site of a former octagonal summerhouse.

The utilitarian part of the garden, and the former tennis court, occupied its southern end, divided by a wall from the ornamental part. This area, used as a kitchen garden and orchard, comprised a series of terraces which, like the tennis court, are now overgrown.
On the back of the hotel, on the west side, are the remains of a bridge between hotel and gardens.

Sources:
Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 212-15 (ref: PGW Dy63(PEM)).
Ordnance Survey second-edition 25-inch map: sheet Pembrokeshire IV.15 (1937).

RCAHMW, 10 June 2022

Site Record

Fishguard Bay Hotel Garden, Goodwick