Bangor Pier - a restored Victorian gem

The Victorians had many admirable qualities, among which were a desire to stay healthy by taking gentle exercise, and excellent engineering skills. When the two came together, the result was the seaside pier. Very few seaside resorts around the British coast did not have at least one pier by the end of the Victorian era, and the top resorts had several magnificent structures striding out to sea, such as Brighton with three!

Bangor, in north-west Wales, had to wait a long time for its pier, as it was not opened until 1896, when Queen Victoria was nearing the end of her life and reign.

Like most constructions of its kind, it had two main functions, as a place to take gentle exercise and sea air, and as a landing stage for pleasure steamers.

However, at low tide you can see that this pier had a third reason for its existence, as it is built on a foundation of hidden rocks that stretch about two-thirds of its length. With the pier in place, no vessels would be tempted to take a short cut and risk grounding on the rocks.

From the top picture above, you might query whether this is a sea pier at all, or merely an incomplete bridge. Bangor is at the eastern end of the Menai Straits, and the land you can see is the island of Anglesey (Ynys Mon in Welsh). The pier only goes half way across, ending at the deep water channel that has been scoured out by the strong tides that sweep through the Straits.

The pier was constructed mainly from steel, supported on spindly-looking cast iron columns and with a broad wooden decking. A landing stage was built at the sea end, together with a pavilion that today serves as a small cafe. At intervals along the 1550 foot length are small shelters, in pairs, with conical roofs. Today these are used as kiosk shops, mostly run by local charities. There are also ornamental lamps, and seating along the sides of the pier. The two towers at the pier entrance have onion-domed roofs that betray the Victorian love of everything oriental.

The pier made Bangor fully accessible to coastal shipping, mainly for pleasure but also commercial. Steamers ran from here along the North Wales coast, and also across the Irish Sea to the Isle of Man and Blackpool.

In 1921, a steamer failed to moor properly and collided with the pier, causing considerable damage and making it necessary to bridge the gap with a walkway that, because of the First World War, stayed in place far longer than intended. It was not until 1921 that the pier was finally repaired.

I was a student at Bangor University in the early 1970s, but was never able to visit the pier at the time because it was in very poor repair and closed to the public. There was even talk of demolishing it altogether. However, a restoration project was started when it was declared to be one of the three finest survivng piers in the country (i.e. the UK, not just Wales). Raising the finances was a huge task, and it was not until 1982 that the work started. This took six years to complete, but it is now in a condition that its Victorian builders would have been proud of.

The pier is open throughout the year. There is a small entrance fee, but for much of the year you are asked to place your money in an "honesty box" at the gate. The views from the pier are magnificent, along the coast towards the Great Orme Head (second picture above), down the Menai Straits, or inland. The pictures below are of the edge of the city of Bangor and the mountains of Snowdonia beyond.

The pier is an excellent vantage point for fishing, and for bird-watching. At low tide, the nearby mudflats are exposed and thousands of wading birds come to feed, including oystercatchers, redshanks and little egrets.

If you are passing through this area, why not stop off for an hour or so to take a break and wander along the pier? You won't regret it! There's even a pub that serves excellent food very close to the pier entrance!

This link is to a short video that will give you more information and panoramas from the pier.