This place is advantageously situated on the shore of Cardigan bay, and affords good anchorage to vessels of small tonnage. The haven is securely sheltered from the westerly winds, and ... might easily be made a safe retreat for ships of considerable burden.
New Quay is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Wales, It lies on the coast overlooking Cardigan Bay and is known in Welsh as "Cei Newydd" which means; "new quay". (And it should not be confused with the village of Newquay in Cornwall.)
New Quay begun life as a small cluster of fishermen's cottages situated just above the beach and was not even recognised as a separate settlement until the mid eighteenth century. It then developed into a thriving small port based on fishing, smuggling, especially the smuggling of salt, and developed its own shipbuilding industry which reached its peak during the middle of the nineteenth century only to peter out towards the end of that century.
As the shipbuilding industy declined New Quay was discovered by Victorian sightseers; in the 1880's the railways reached nearby Aberystwyth and Llandysul and horse drawn buses were used to convey tourists there and back, attracted to New Quay by its picturesque and quaint character.
Tourism remains the principle business of New Quay today; it is a beach resort with the usual cafes, shops and pubs clustered around the sea front and the secluded harbour is used for sailing and boating activities. It boasts both a Heritage Centre and a Marine Wildlife Centre; at nearby Bird Rock, there is a colony of razorbills and guillemots and the harbour itself is famed for the regular appearance of bottle-nosed dolphins. On the
downside much of the nearby coastline is now the home to numerous caravan parks.
On the basis that Dylan Thomas once briefly lived there during 1944/1945
it is often claimed that New Quay was the model for the fictional Llareggub, but other locations such as Laugharne also claim that honour.
Table of References
- http://www.newquay-westwales.co.uk/history.htm
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CGN/Llanllwchaearn/Lewis1833.html
- http://www.thisistivyside.net/tivyside/info/town_guide/newquay.html