Bangor Pier - Bangor - Wales

Four of the following photos appeared on LindyLouMac's World in Photos for ABC Wednesday for the letter I featuring the ironwork.  It was because of interest in this post that I decided to publish a fuller post with more photos here on Travel Tales. My visit to Bangor was in the Autumn of 2016, the season probably obvious from clues in the photos! 

I have included here a brief history of  Bangor Pier courtesy of  Website - The Pier where you can read the full article.

'Bangor pier was designed by Westminster based JJ Webster and was built for a total of £14,475. The pier was completed in 1896, and was opened to the public on May 14th.Once construction had finished pier was 1550 feet (470m) long. The amazing length of the pier made it the ninth longest in England and Wales.

The pier was built mainly of steel and iron columns; the decking was wooden and had covered kiosks at regular intervals along its length. At the end of the pier a boat landing stage was constructed, this was initially linked to a narrow gauge railway link for baggage carrying. After careful thought and planning the railway link was removed not long after it was built.

In 1971 it was decided that the pier was no longer safe for the public to use and it was closed. The arfon borough council took ownership and in 1974 decided demolition was the only answer. The local council put in an objection and gained a preservation order. The preservation order made the pier a grade 2 listed building. The listed status helped the seaside pier considerably as it was considered one of the finest 3 piers in Britain at the time.

Later on in 1975 the local council bought the pier for a mere one pence, the next task was raising funds for the repairs. The fund rising took a total of seven years to complete. Later on down the line, after the funding was in place the rebuild of the pier took a further six years to finish off.

The project was helped considerably by the national heritage memorial fund. On the 7th May 1988 the seaside pier was reopened to the public'.

However by 2011 more expensive renovations were needed, the timeline of which can be read on The National Piers Society Website.   Thankfully the Pier remains open and is looked after by Bangor Council. 

If you are interested in learning more about this historic pier, the links below where I researched my information are worth visiting.

The photographs are all my own as always. The videos I have shared courtesy of You Tube are both from last year and are well worth watching if you have a few minutes to spare.

Trip Advisor - Bangor Pier     Bangor Pier    National Piers Society    YouTube