Holyhead Breakwater
At 1.7 miles long, Holyhead Breakwater, completed in 1873, is the longest in the UK.
| Date | 17 June 2012 | ||
| Location | Holyhead, Anglesey | SH 25661 84774; 53.33106°N, 4.61950°W | |
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Holyhead’s role as a port for mail-packet crossings to Ireland dates back to the 16th century, but it was in the 19th century that major changes were made as part of a programme of improvements to the mail route from London to Dublin. A new harbour of refuge, where boats could shelter in bad weather, was created when a long breakwater was built off Soldiers Point. Construction began in 1845 and was completed in 1873, with the work initially supervised by James Meadows Rendel and after Rendel’s death in 1856, by John Hawkshaw. The mock castle at Soldiers Point was built in 1848 as the Superintendent Engineer’s residence. The 19m-high lighthouse at the end of the breakwater, with its unusual square tower, was probably designed by Hawkshaw and was completed in 1873. It is operated by Trinity House and was automated in 1961. At 1.5 miles long, the breakwater is the longest in the UK. Seven million tons of quartzite extracted from the quarries on Holyhead Mountain were used in its construction. In August 2011 the breakwater’s owners, Stena Line, were criticised for their lack of maintenance of the structure. The issue of its proper upkeep has been linked to Conygar Stena’s Holyhead waterfront development plans. Holyhead Breakwater (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales); |
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The 210m long superferry Stena Adventurer leaving Holyhead bound for Dublin. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the ferry entered service in 2003 and has a capacity of 500 cars and 900 passengers. The crossing takes 3 hours 15 minutes.
Inferior mirage above the breakwater parapet. Parts of the sky appear lower down than expected as rays of light are bent on entering a layer of hot air directly above the stone heated by the sun.
[...] building, was built in 1848 as the residence of the Engineer in charge of the Government-sponsored alterations to Holyhead harbour being carried out as part of improvements to the mail route from London to Dublin. John Hawkshaw [...]
Soldiers Point Hotel, Holyhead « GeoTopoi
June 20, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Hola !!!!gracias por las fotos y comentarios.Muy buenas!!!Que lugares hhermosos y que historicos!!!!GRACIAS. Carinos!!!!
marcia grffiths
June 20, 2012 at 6:52 pm
De nada, Marcia. Saludos!
Graham Stephen
June 22, 2012 at 6:19 pm
Very nice topper shot, the colours are super. What a pity that ferry wasn’t built on the Clyde. It looks like it has been cobbled together from about three other unrelated objects. Nice photo, though all the same!
teigl
June 21, 2012 at 9:39 am
The ferry design is a bit disjointed looking, isn’t it?
Graham Stephen
June 22, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Bellas tomas, ¡que lugares mas bonitos e interesantes!, tienes de todo!!, abrazos
ManoliRizoFotografia
June 21, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Mil gracias, Manoli. Que tengas un buen finde!
Graham Stephen
June 22, 2012 at 6:22 pm
[...] quarried from the Mountain was used in the construction of Holyhead Breakwater, which was completed in [...]
Holyhead Mountain « GeoTopoi
June 22, 2012 at 4:46 pm
The last photo is fascinating with the heat coming off the stone. Makes one do a double take to try to understand it.
Dezra Despain
June 24, 2012 at 1:49 pm
Passers by probably wondered what I was playing at, staring along the top of the parapet
Graham Stephen
June 25, 2012 at 8:17 pm
[...] amounts of rock were required during the construction between 1845 and 1873 of Holyhead Breakwater. Although the dressed stone visible in the part of the structure above water came from a quarry in [...]
Breakwater Quarry and Brickworks, Holyhead « GeoTopoi
June 26, 2012 at 6:50 pm
[...] London and Dublin increased. Telford built the suspension bridge as part of his road from London to Holyhead, the ferry port chosen to link Great Britain with [...]
Menai Bridge « GeoTopoi
October 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm