Burryport

This photograph could easily be one of those 1930s railway posters showing all the sporting attractions of the seaside!  Incredibly, it still does not show all the activities going on, for across the bay, in the next photo taken, my telephoto lens picked up three tiny dots. Enlargement showed three paragliders!

For the older inhabitants of Burryport, the transformation from busy industrial harbour to holidaymaker's playground must be nothing short of miraculous. In fact Burryport did not exist until the 1850s, when the village grew up around the new harbour that was built to export the coal produced in the Gwendraeth valley.

As part of the Millennium project, a cycle track and footpath has been laid from Bynea (Llanelli) to Pembrey - a distance of some 14 miles. A new Marina developed and Burryport transformed from industrial heritage site to a busy harbour once more.

The beach is small, but relatively uncrowded, and there are a range - as the photograph shows - of water based activities for the holidaymaker.

Reading about the history of the village, the most memorable event in Burryport's history seems to have been that 90 years ago, on June the 18th 1928, Amelia Earhart's Fokker F7 (on her bid to become the first woman to fly the atlantic) ran out of fuel and landed in Burryport's harbour.

Industry is now largely confined to a few marine and engineering companies and Parsons Pickles. Burryport has a lifeboat station, a small supermarket and a range of gift and craft shops. It also has a Brass Band and a famous Male Voice Choir. The village has two websites devoted to its activities: BurryPort.org and Burry-Port.co.uk