Fishguard, Wales, UK

We had a nice sunny day for our time here. We did have to tender in and again our ship was pretty far out and the water was rough. It was not as rough as on our prior tender port. The country of Wales has a population of about 3 million. About 20% speak Welch, but there is a big push in the schools to increase Welch speakers to about 40% in the next 10 years.

We were met on the pier by Jemimah and ladies passing out traditional Welch cookies, which are a cross between shortbread and a scone. So Jemimah was the leader of the women who in 1797 aborted the efforts of the French to land on British soil. When the French landed on February 14, 1797 they were met on the cliffs by what looked like a huge army. It was actually Jemimah with her pitchfork and the other women of Fishguard. They captured 8 of the French soldiers and that was the last invasion of British land.

Bob went on a hike. He said it was semi-difficult. There were several people who did not complete it. He said the views were beautiful of the coastline and small villages.

Bette went to Pembrook Castle. I learned that the stones for Stonehenge came from here. Historians are not sure how the large stones were transported from here to Stonehenge but the mineralogy is exactly the same. The Normans invaded this part of the UK around the year 1000.

I learned about the Lansker Line. This is an imaginary line that divides Wales in 2. On one side the citizens speak Welch and on the other side the citizens speak English. In old times the Lansker Line was protected by a series of castles. The purpose was to keep the Welch in the north and the English to the south.

Coal was the primary industry for many hundreds of years. Our guide told the story of a mine collapse in which both of his great-great-grandfathers had been killed.

Pembrook is a walled town with many of the original walls still standing. Pembrook Castle was started in 1093 as a wooden fort. Over the years, it was enlarged and the walls were made of stone. In 1457, Henry Tudor, Henry VII was born there. We had about an hour to walk around the castle grounds where were in pretty good shape. The upper floors of the buildings were not there but signage and explanation boards showed what it would have looked like 750 years ago. The main keep was still available to climb. I did not do it, because it was very steep with narrow steps.

We next went to Tenby, which was another medieval town. It has the distinction of having 4 beaches at high tide but only 2 at low tide. Part of the harbor was dry, with boats sitting on the ground, waiting for the tide to come in and float them again. It was a very pretty town and it was nice to walk around and see the interesting buildings.

Bob and I ended up returning about the same time and had another rocky ride back to the ship.