Holyhead - An Overview

The busy ferry port of Holyhead is located on the far west of the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales, and since the time of Elizabeth I, has been a strategic link in the route between England, Wales and Ireland. 

Construction of the inner harbour at Holyhead was completed in 1880, being opened by the Prince of Wales that same year. The harbour was shaped like a 'V' with arrival and departure railway lines on either side and transfer from train to ship being made under cover. The London and North Western railway also opened a large hotel, ensuring close co-ordination between their trains, ships and hotel.

During the 1890's, new mail contracts were arranged which brought about some alterations and improvements to the port's services and these remained with little change until 1914. When World War I came, sailings became subject to considerable variation. Timetables for that period showed no fixed departure or arrival times for the steamers and efforts appear to have been made to complete passages during daylight hours. Despite this, the City of Dublin Steam Packet's Leinster was torpedoed by a German U-boat U-123 on 10 October 1918, a month before the end of the war, just outside Dublin Bay at a point four miles east of the Kish light. When she went down 501 people perished — the greatest single loss of life at sea in the Irish Sea.

On 1 January 1923, as a result of the Railway Act, the London & North Western railway became a constituent company of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. That year also marked the deepening of Holyhead's inner harbour.

On nationalisation of the private railway companies in 1948, the port came under the control of British Railways, London Midland Region. The Sealink brand was adopted in 1969.

A new car ferry service to Dun Laoghaire was introduced in 1965 but the port received a setback in 1970. The Britannia bridge fire destroyed the rail connection between the mainland and Anglesey and this resulted in the temporary transfer of both the rail-sea passenger traffic and the new ISO container service to Heysham. 

Amongst Sealink ports Holyhead was unique in possessing it's own drydock along with this was a vast supply of technical expertise and resources. The main workshops were located alongside the Refit Berth and a wide range of ship repairs, modifications and survey requirements were handled with ease. However, a hallmark of the 1970's and 80's was a lack of investment in the port's infrastructure and the loss of the marine workshop's quickly followed by the closure of the container services to Belfast and Dublin, was a major blow to the town where the majority of people depended on the port for an income.

Holyhead, 1975. Left to right; The Hibernia (just out of view), the Slieve Donard and the Rhodri Mawr on Berth 10, the Duke of Lancaster, the Duke of Argyll, the Earl Godwin at the Refit Berth, the Brian Boroime at the Container Terminal, and the Duke of Rothesay. Phil Evans Collection.

On January 1 1979 the name Sealink was instituted and Sealink UK Ltd was born. The business was divided into three sections one of these covering ten ports: Dover, Fishguard, Folkestone, Heysham, Holyhead, Newhaven, Parkeston Quay, Portsmouth, Stranraer and Weymouth. 

History was made in March 1982 when Ireland's B+I Line commenced their car ferry service from Dublin, bringing competition to Sealink's doorstep. By 1987 the Irish company had closed their 153 year old Liverpool service in order to concentrate on the shorter, and more economical, Holyhead crossing.

In July 1984 Sealink UK Ltd was privatised and the business, including the ports of Stranraer, Heysham, Holyhead, Fishguard, Newhaven, Folkestone and Parkeston Quay passed into the ownership of Sea Containers. When Sealink British Ferries was sold to Stena Line in 1990 the ports of Fishguard, Parkeston Quay, Holyhead and Stranraer passed to the Swedish company – Sea Containers for the time being retaining Folkestone, Newhaven and Heysham.

Under Stena Ports ownership Holyhead has seen a much needed injection of capital. in 1993 the company introduced high speed ferry services to Dun Laoghaire with heavy investment in associated facilities being made over a three year period. A new freight service to Dublin was introduced in November 1995 and the most recent investment saw the introduction of the new Stena Adventurer onto this route at a cost of £68 million in July 2003. To facilitate the new ship a twin tier berth was provided at a cost of over £10 million.


1923
1975
1979

1993
1998
2006

In 1993 the Stena Hibernia moves off the Station Berth, No. 8...
...and moves out through the inner harbour. The Isle of Innisfree is outside
The Stena Hibernia moves slowly pass the site of the old Goods Inward berth, No 10...

...and past the disused drydock and marine workshops, into the 'Gut'.
In the Outer Harbour the inward Stena Cambria makes for the inner harbour.
A port which had seen better days, but change was just around the corner.

1997, and a new lease of life.
The HSS Stena Explorer pulls away from her dedicated berth.
The Stena Explorer, Dun Laoghaire-bound.

1999 and the Stena Challenger and Isle of Inishmore are at their outer harbour berths.
The Stena Forwarder alongside in 2000. This chartered ship maintained the Dublin link until the arrival of the Stena Adventurer in 2003
The outer harbour scene in 2002 with the Stena Forwarder and Ulysses. In the inner harbour, the high speed craft Jonathan Swift arrives from Dublin. 

With thanks to Dr Matthew Williams, Capt Richard Jones, Phil Evans (Anglesey Info) & Philip Coombs