Nov
22
Ready to Cruise Wales, Prepare to Find Anglesey Hidden Gems
November 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
With a greater number of travellers seeking to cruise Wales as well as other parts of the UK, there seems an increasing chance that Wales will soon catch up with the long established European cruise ports as a desired destination in the popular leisure cruise market. In the British Parliament a special committee of legislators focusing on Wales have produced a report with such conclusions. The report indicates that the UK cruise market enjoyed strong growth over the last decade or so, and it recommends that efforts be made to secure more growth in cruise ship arrivals to strengthen Welsh port communities and economies.
If you are an enthusiastic cruise traveller just be aware that before you make early bookings to cruise Wales there is currently some difficulty with offering suitable facilities for berthing at some Welsh ports, where the infrastructure needs to be upgraded to cater for the fast growing fleet of big ships cruising European waters. “Celtic Wave” is a campaign led by Anglesey with a budget of around $2m and covering Irish and Welsh ports, which aims to attract more cruise ship visitors to these ports and their economic hinterlands.
The Welsh Assembly Government in Cardiff has called on the UK government to support extra infrastructure investment to bring these ports, including Holyhead, Anglesey, Milford Haven and Swansea, up to the standards demanded by the cruise liner companies. According to the findings of ther House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee, there is significant potential to boost local port economies and their regional hinterlands by maximising opportunities for people to cruise Wales as part of the UK cruising experience.
Over the longer term the prospects of Welsh ports catching up with Baltic ports is encouraging, an area where a popular cruise market already thrives. From Holyhead in the North West of Wales to Newport via Swansea and Milford Haven, ports in Wales can act as catalysts for economic regeneration when they attract visitors to cruise Wales. In 2009 the first cruise ship visited Newport, close to Celtic Manor which will host the Ryder Cup in 2010. The cruise visitors arriving in Newport had the opportunity to visit Cardiff sites such as the Millennium Centre and the castle.
In the same upon arrival at the port of Holyhead on Anglesey, cruise visitors would be able to see some fantastic attractions including World Heritage Castles of Wales at Beaumaris and Caernarfon, South Stack Lighthouse and Llynnon Mill. Then there is the 125 mile long island coastal path with breathtaking views, and the notable Oriel Art Gallery and Seawatch centre at Moelfre.
The Welsh Assembly Government is offering financial support to strengthen the facilities for the expected rise in cruise ship visits to Holyhead, most notably to strengthen the jetty used by Anglesey Aluminium Metals (AAM), which offers an ideal anchorage and a perfect disembarkation berth for cruise ship passengers. When finished this improvement will mean this Holyhead Port outer harbour pier will be strong enough to take huge ships like the Westerdam, a 2,000 passengers carrying, 285 metre liner.
Looking ahead the prospects looks good for potential UK cruise visitors wanting to cruise Wales as part of their overall itinerary, and for sure Holyhead port will be set to give them a great welcome as they set out to search for the various attractions on and off the island.
Coming from the sunny island of Anglesey Wales in the UK, the author, David Phillips, manages an informative website covering local news and information. Find out more about planning to cruise Wales here to help make your vacation more pleasurable. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
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