Coast & Countryside

Llanelli Steelworks

The town’s biggest steelworks opened its doors in 1907 and for decades the works dominated the Llanelli landscape with its huge chimneys belching out smoke that often engulfed the whole town.

Conditions were known to be tough here. Men and boys worked alongside each other in a hot, oppressive atmosphere, where injury and even death were commonplace.

Canadian giant Duport Steel bought the works in the 1960s but production ended in 1981 when the company hit financial difficulties and the site was abandoned.

The reclamation of this derelict, industry-scarred site and its transformation into the tranquil Sandy Water Park was the catalyst for the regeneration of the Llanelli coastline and eventually led to the creation of the Millennium Coastal Park.

Sandy Water Park & Festival Fields

Sandy Water Park (Main picture above) played a crucial part in the rebirth of the Llanelli coastline as it was the first of the major regeneration projects and was held up as a stunning example of how an old derelict industrial site could be revitalised.

For nearly 80 years, a giant steelworks dominated both the site and the town but that has now been replaced by tranquil urban parkland, which is enjoyed by thousands of visitors a year.

Sandy Water Park features a beautiful 16-acre lake that is a haven for all sorts of wildlife and has a resident flock of swans that can reach over 20 in number at certain times of the year.

Adjacent to Sandy Water Park are Festival Fields, which had the honour of hosting the National Eisteddfod at the turn of the new millennium.

It was the first site that had been purposely designed for the festival and has since been developed as an outdoor arena capable of holding a variety of events.