A weekend of folk music in Fishguard: ticketed concerts, free pub sessions and musicians playing in corners of Lower Town.
Fishguard is a good town for this. It has a proper town square, a working harbour at Goodwick, and Lower Town — a tiny stone-built harbour on the Gwaun that has been standing in for period Wales in films since the 1950s. Put a folk festival in it and the town does the rest.
The weekend mixes ticketed concerts in the halls with sessions in the pubs, singarounds, dance and workshops. The sessions are the point for most people: musicians turn up, sit round a table, and you can stand at the bar and listen for nothing. Welsh-language material sits alongside Irish and English repertoire, which is what you would expect in a town that looks across at Ireland.
Getting around. Everything is walkable if you are staying in the town centre. Lower Town is a steep hill down and a steeper one back up, and the lanes there are single track with nowhere to park — walk it.
The honest bit. North Pembrokeshire has fewer beds than the south coast, and a festival weekend in a small town fills what there is. If you leave it late you will end up staying at Newport, Dinas Cross or inland and driving, which means somebody is not drinking.
If the weather turns, the Gwaun Valley is the local wet-weather walk, and the coast between Fishguard and Pwll Deri is the dramatic one. Check the festival's own listings for this year's dates and venues.
A folk music weekend based in and around Fishguard, with concerts, sessions in pubs, dance and workshops.
Accommodation in Fishguard and Goodwick is limited — book early if you want to stay in town.
Before you plan around this
Dates change every year — check with the organiser before you travel
We don't sell tickets and take no commission on any of these — links go straight to whoever runs it.
Accommodation books up around the bigger events — Fishguard & Goodwick especially.
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Elevated holiday park with panoramic views over Fishguard Bay, a seasonal outdoor heated pool and the coast path on the doorstep.
4.4 · 79 reviews on Hoseasons
Bookable via Hoseasons
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