Burry Port (in Welsh - Porth Tywyn) is a small town in Carmarthenshire, about five miles west of the larger town of Llanelli, and lying on the Loughor estuary.
The town is home to a harbour (three really). Less than 10 years ago, the main harbour used to be dry at low tide, with fishing boats lying on their sides on the mud. In the past, the back harbour was where the work was done. Big boats would come in on the tide, and you can see where there used to be lock gates across its entrance, so that the boats could remain afloat at low tide. We have an aerial photo of the area, taken in the 1970s, when the area around the harbour was a mass of railway lines and sidings for loading coal etc.. The third harbour was the ‘scouring pond’. This filled up with water at high tide and its lock gates (again you can see where they used to be) were closed. At low tide they were opened, and the outrush of water ‘scoured’ the main harbour of silt.
The estuary was where Amelia Earhart landed as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, and there is a commemorative plaque alongside the harbour, near the lifeboat station.
The Pembrey Burrows sand dune and wetland system, a couple of miles down the estuary, is home to the Country Park, and the Cefn Sidan sands. A large area of dunes and marshland which historically occupied many square miles of land, much of which has later been reclaimed.
To the north of the town is the hill, Pembrey Mountain, in Welsh - Mynydd Pen-bre.
The town is home to a harbour (three really). Less than 10 years ago, the main harbour used to be dry at low tide, with fishing boats lying on their sides on the mud. In the past, the back harbour was where the work was done. Big boats would come in on the tide, and you can see where there used to be lock gates across its entrance, so that the boats could remain afloat at low tide. We have an aerial photo of the area, taken in the 1970s, when the area around the harbour was a mass of railway lines and sidings for loading coal etc.. The third harbour was the ‘scouring pond’. This filled up with water at high tide and its lock gates (again you can see where they used to be) were closed. At low tide they were opened, and the outrush of water ‘scoured’ the main harbour of silt.
The estuary was where Amelia Earhart landed as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, and there is a commemorative plaque alongside the harbour, near the lifeboat station.
The Pembrey Burrows sand dune and wetland system, a couple of miles down the estuary, is home to the Country Park, and the Cefn Sidan sands. A large area of dunes and marshland which historically occupied many square miles of land, much of which has later been reclaimed.
To the north of the town is the hill, Pembrey Mountain, in Welsh - Mynydd Pen-bre.
Burry Port lies at the end of the Gwendraeth valley which runs north easterly from Burry Port for about twelve miles. The land around the valley itself contains large amounts of coal as well as limestone. The Gwendraeth Fawr river flows the length of the valley and joins the sea at Burry port flowing into the estuary of the Loughor river (known locally as the "Burry").
The early history of the Burry Port area was one of farming and allegedly brutal exploitation of shipwrecks. Ships wrecked at nearby Pembrey while trying to pass the Bristol Channel during storms were said to be stripped by locals whose vicious efficiency (and tendency to save the cargo before the crew) cast fear into many a sailor. In fact no firm evidence (including booty) has ever been found of such activity. People of Burry Port and Pembrey tell stories of how "Pirates" used to wave lanterns whilst on the harbour to trick ships into sailing into the rocks. They would then take all cargo and valuables and leave the sailors.
Records indicate that coal mining was established in the valley as early as 1540 although there was little effective transport. The Gwendraeth Fawr at the time was navigable but treacherous. Growing interest in coal, limestone and iron ore drove the growth of the coal trade.
Thomas Kymer, a mining entrepreneur in the area initially used the Gwendraeth Fawr, but in 1768, he opened a canal and quay, part of which is today restored and preserved. The canal cut through the marshes allowing boats to travel upstream far enough to reach solid ground where quays could be built. This allowed barges to operate at all times and without having to wait for tides. A canal alone was not sufficient to solve the transport problems and wagonways were built from the mines to the canal itself, and several of these eventually became railways.
In 1798, a second canal was cut by the Earl of Ashburnham to serve his mines nearby and this also was fed by wagonways. The area continued to expand as more mines continued to open further up the valley. Trade in coal was badly hindered however as the shifting sands made the river treacherous and the safe paths changed year by year.
In 1832 a harbour was built at Burry Port, a few years after the nearby harbour at Pembrey opened. Fed by a series of chaotic canals and wagonways it finally offered a way to ship Gwendraeth coal out by sea. No village or town of Burry Port yet existed.
By 1840 the canals feeding Burry Port and their tramways fed coal from the entire Gwendraeth valley down to the sea. Early records of Burry Port as a town appear around 1850, springing up around the new docks adjacent to Pembrey. The importance of the newly emerging town was plain when the railways reached Burry Port, and the station serving both Pembrey and the new town of Burry Port was built a few hundred yards down from Pembrey at Burry Port
By 1840 the canals feeding Burry Port and their tramways fed coal from the entire Gwendraeth valley down to the sea. Early records of Burry Port as a town appear around 1850, springing up around the new docks adjacent to Pembrey. The importance of the newly emerging town was plain when the railways reached Burry Port, and the station serving both Pembrey and the new town of Burry Port was built a few hundred yards down from Pembrey at Burry Port
The canal network was no longer able to handle the coal from the Gwendraeth valley mines and part of the network was converted into the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway by the late 1860s with the port continuing to grow in importance and shipping volumes.These days, the coal mines are all closed. With the closure of the mines at Cwm Mawr the railways up the valley have been closed and the harbour has been redeveloped. The harbour is now a marina for small leisure craft. For a while, the town's economy relied on a power station and small engineering companies.
However, the Power Station (which stood at the end of Silver Terrace) was closed in the 1980s contributing to high unemployment in the town. Townspeople who work locally do so now largely in engineering, retail and local services.
Pembrey and Burry Port railway station still exists and is served by regular services east via Swansea and Cardiff to London and west into Pembrokeshire.Burry Port is a key location along the Millennium Coastal Path, which runs from Bynea near Llanelli to Pembrey Burrows. Burry Port boasts two supermarkets, specialist shops, several hairdressers, a beauty and skincare salon, an array of pubs and fast food outlets, a library and a large secondary school.
There are currently plans for development around the docks including a cinema.
