Liz Taylor and Richard Burton who starred in the film stayed in what was and still is the largest hotel, the landmark Fishguard Bay Hotel, on the cliff above the station and departure point for the ferry from Wales to Ireland.
Go up to the hotel for a fine view over the bay to the opposite side. You can buy drinks in the bar. The hotel is open to non-residents.
They also serve excellent traditional food. I stayed for a long weekend, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, taking the train's replacement bus at half past twelve on Sunday, missing the hotel's lunch.
During my stay I had three evening dinners and two lunches and three breakfasts. At breakfast you can ask for vegetarian sausages. You get four, enough for two people. You might prefer these, even if you are not a full time vegetarian.
I said to my friend, Alison, "That sounds good, if you want to avoid processed meat, which the Cancer Research sites say you should avoid as a precaution to guard against cancer."
Alison replied, "You are avoiding processed meat. However, the sausage most likely is full of preservatives anyway." She tucked into her sausages. Next year, or next time, I must remember to ask for vegetarian sausages.
Starters
At dinner I decided that the egg mayonnaise starter was the best option. The perfectly cooked halves of hard boiled eggs came in a nest of fresh green salad.
Our set menu offered three starters, a juice, a soup and an alternative.
One of the soup choices was vegetable soup. At another meal we were offered pea and ham.
On one occasion I chose a leek and potato soup. The leek is a Welsh and Sottish favourite vegetable.
I was in Fishguard in February 2019 at Writers' and Artist's Holiday. Leeks proved a good conversation point. A Scottish friend, Fiona - a good Scottish name, told us that leeks and tatties (potatoes) are part of the Burns supper celebrated in Scotland and worldwide, especially Russia. My leek and potato soup was too salty, two of us agreed.
Main courses
My favourites were:
Chicken in mushroom cream sauce. (I recall one mouthful of chicken being a little tough.)
My top favourite was the cottage pie. Perfect.
We also had some wonderful potatoes. The new potatoes were better than the average. The ones which were halved and sauteed were divine.
I live part of the year in Singapore, where potatoes are rarely seen. Most meals are with noodles or rice, my go to meal in the cheap hawker centres being the national dish, chicken rice, which is a mount of white boiled rice with slices of chicken. I dream of, yearn for, potatoes.
Desserts
My favourites included tiramisu and apple crumble. The cheesecake was good.
The strawberry gateau was disappointing. At supper, not a strawberry in sight, just what looked like a jam sauce on top. Next day at lunch time, the dessert has some tiny pieces of strawberry in the centre top.
The set meal choices were fruit salad or one of the two cakes or cooked desserts of the day.
I recommend the tiramisu. Moist, filling, tasty, alcoholic flavour. One of our group asked for the tiramisu, which was on the a la carte menu. She said the staff told her that you could choose from the a la carte menu instead. I suppose they speed things up for a group by limiting you to three choice.
Packed Lunch
They can also provide residents with a packed lunch for the train home. Very basic. Either a ham or cheese sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water.
My sandwich had a generous double layer of cheese on white bread. Filling. However, my friend who is vegetarian was given the same sandwich containing tomato, which as well as being tasting is more moist.
I knew they would not pack up the starter or main course, but I thought a dessert could be packed into a lunch box. they allowed me into the kitchen. My options were a black forest gateau of a white lemon roll. I opted for the latter, fearing that I would smear chocolate all over myself in a jolting train, eating on my lap.
On the train I managed to get a seat. My apple rolled off the table onto the floor. I could have washed it in the toilets, but the water was labelled Not Drinking Water. I could have used the drinking water to wash my apple, but too much palaver, risk of making myself wet, keeping others waiting for the toilet, leaving my possessions in my seat too long.
Next time I go to the hotel I shall be well prepared. I shall also look at their a la carte menu.
My journey back from Fishguard and Goodwyck to Paddington station, London, was on a Sunday. The second train on my four stage journey had no drinks and food trolley. I heard the announcement and the moving text sign at the end of the carriage over the exit doorway confirmed it. So I was glad of the packed lunch.
A previous year I had visited Fishguard for a longer stay in summer, and enjoyed Welsh cakes, best at the hotel,but also sold on the train's trolley. This time on the train back, I had to get my last taste of Wales from the bilingual signs on stations in English and Welsh.
Useful Websites
To learn Welsh, free online:
duolingo.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Fishguard, Wales, learning Welsh, Writers, artists, Welsh Whisky and Welsh chocolate. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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