Transport Information.
Burry Port Geography
Burry Port lies at the end of the Gwendraeth valley which runs north easterly from Burry Port for about twelve miles (19 km). The land around the valley itself contains large amounts of coal as well as limestone. The Gwendraeth Fawr 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”).
West of the town’s shoreline is Pembrey Burrows, a large area of burrow 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 Mynydd Pembrey, or Pembrey Mountain. Â
Early history
People made a living in Burry Port from farming and fishing before the industrial revolution brought the railways and collieries to the area, As Pembrey Burrows was a hazard to shipping, local people would also salvage what they could from boats wrecked in storms while navigating the Bristol Channel. Â
Industrial History
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, owner of many mining and other operations in the area established several loading places and primitive trackways to load barges on the Gwendraeth Fawr. Cargo was carried down the Gwendraeth river and then up the Towy to Carmarthen. In 1768 Kymer 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 to get inland. A canal alone was not sufficient to solve the transport problems and wagonways were built to carry traffic from the mines to the canal itself. Several of these wagonways became plateways and then railways as technology improved.
A second canal was cut by the Earl of Ashburnham in 1798 to serve his mines nearby and this also was fed by wagonways. The canals continued to expand and wharves and dock facilities were built. More mines continued to open further up the valley sending their coal down through the canals to the sea. The trade in coal was hindered heavily however as the shifting sands made the river treacherous and the safe paths changed year by year.
Burry Port in 1952.
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
The canal network was now unable to handle the loads from the Gwendraeth valley mines and part of the canal 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.
Present day
With the closure of all the mines at Cwm Mawr the railways up the valley have been lifted. The harbour is now a marina for small leisure craft. 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 boasts a supermarket, 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 further development around the docks including a cinema.
Glan-y-Mor Comprehensive School (Glan-y-Mor translates as ‘By the Sea’) has approximately 650 pupils (2007). There is also a Welsh primary School – Ysgol Parc y Tywyn, and an English medium infants school and an English medium junior school in the town.
Burry Port is lies on the Millennium Coastal Path from Bynea near Llanelli to Pembrey Burrows.
Amelia Earhart landing
On June 17, 1928 Amelia Earhart flew from Newfoundland with co-pilots Wilmer “Bill” Stultz and Louis “Slim” Gordon in a Fokker F7 and on June 18 landed safely in Burry Port, becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. An Amelia Earhart Festival was held in June 2003 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the landing, and the event is commemorated by engraved flagtones and a plaque in the harbour.[1]
Burry Port tidal range
The Millennium Coastal Path near Burry Port.
The current sea level depths in the shipping year at Burry Port are the following:
Tide Height
- Mean High Water Springs (MHWS): 8.6 metres (28 ft)
- Mean High Water Neaps (MHWN): 6.6 metres (22 ft)
- Mean Low Water Neaps (MLWN): 3.0 metres (9.8 ft)
- Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS): 1.1 metres (3 ft 7 in)
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