Burry Port Webcam, Carmarthenshire, Wales

The Burry Port Webcam looks out from the harbor at Burry Port in Carmarthenshire, across a wide sandy beach to the mouth of the Loughor estuary and the hills of Gower on the far shore. On the right, a rock breakwater runs out to the small white lighthouse with a red lantern that has marked the harbor entrance since 1842. The tide is what changes the picture most. At low water the sand runs far out in flats cut by shallow channels, and as the tide floods those channels fill and the estuary works its way back toward the boulders below the camera.

About Burry Port

Burry Port is a harbor town of 6,156 people (2011 census) about 8 kilometers (5 miles) west of Llanelli, on the north shore of the Loughor estuary where it opens into Carmarthen Bay. The harbor was built in the 1830s to ship coal from the Gwendraeth Valley, replacing an older harbor at Pembrey about 370 meters (400 yards) to the west that kept silting up. When the inland mines closed the coal trade went with them, and the dredged basin is now the only marina in Carmarthenshire.

In the foreground of the frame, a line of boulders edges the top of the beach above a strip of grass and a red-surfaced path, which looks to be the Millennium Coastal Path running past the harbor. A red channel buoy sits out on the flats. The lighthouse on the right stands on the west breakwater of the outer harbor: a tower just 6 meters (20 feet) tall, painted white with a black gallery and a red lantern. It was restored and relit on 9 February 1996 and is a Grade II listed building. Across the water, left of center, a slender dark tower in the water off the Gower shore appears to be Whiteford Lighthouse, a cast iron tower 13 meters (44 feet) high, built in 1865 off Whiteford Point and described as the only wave-washed cast iron lighthouse in Britain.

The local lifeboat story starts in 1852, when a boat was first placed at Llanelli. It moved to Pembrey Burrows in 1863 and to Burry Port in 1887. The three boats named David Barclay of Tottenham that served until the station closed in 1914 were credited with saving 34 lives. More boating in the 1960s brought a run of drownings, and the RNLI reopened the station in 1973 with an inshore lifeboat. The current boathouse opened on 19 September 2019 and houses an Atlantic 85, The Misses Barrie, and a D class boat, Williams and Cole, both launched by tractor.

The stream is titled Burry Port RNLI and comes from PC1 Limited, a Swansea company that also set up the RNLI camera on Porthcawl pier so people can check sea conditions before heading out.

Weather and Climate in Burry Port

Burry Port has a mild, wet maritime climate. Averages for 1991 to 2020 from the nearby Pembrey Sands weather station give January highs of about 8 C (47 F) and lows near 3 C (37 F). April warms to around 13 C (55 F) by day with nights near 5 C (41 F). July is the warmest month, with highs near 20 C (68 F) and lows around 13 C (55 F), and October still reaches about 15 C (59 F) with lows near 8 C (47 F). Annual rainfall comes to about 1,100 millimeters (43 inches).

Low cloud can sit on the Gower hills or hide them completely, while a clear day sharpens the far shore and the open water of Carmarthen Bay on the right of the horizon. Whatever the month, the tide sets the scene: the same frame can show bare sand stretching toward the channel and, six hours later, water lying much closer to the boulders.

Things to Do Near Burry Port

The Millennium Coastal Path runs right past the harbor. It is a 21 kilometer (13 mile) walking and cycling route along the Carmarthenshire shore between Llanelli and Pembrey Country Park, and the stretch from Burry Port Harbour west to the country park, about 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles), is its last section. On the harborside, a Grade II listed stone column topped by a weathervane in the shape of a seaplane marks the day in June 1928 when the Friendship came down on the estuary off Burry Port carrying Amelia Earhart, the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air. The Amelia Earhart Gardens in the middle of town are a second tribute.

Pembrey Country Park covers about 200 hectares (500 acres) of parkland a short drive west of town. At its southern edge are the dunes and beach of Cefn Sidan, the longest beach in Wales at 13 kilometers (8 miles), and nearby Pembrey Burrows is a large area of burrow and marshland.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more of the Welsh coast and Carmarthenshire, try these cams.

• Tenby Harbour Webcam
• Llandudno Webcam
• Ammanford Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Burry Port located?

Burry Port is in Carmarthenshire, south Wales, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) west of Llanelli. The town sits on the north shore of the Loughor estuary, where it meets Carmarthen Bay, with the Gower peninsula across the water to the south.

What can you see on the Burry Port Webcam?

The beach beside Burry Port Harbour, with the breakwater and its small white lighthouse on the right, the Loughor estuary in the middle and the hills of north Gower on the far shore.

Is the Burry Port Webcam at the RNLI lifeboat station?

Probably. PC1 Limited broadcasts it on YouTube under the title Burry Port RNLI, and neither PC1 nor the RNLI publishes the exact mounting point. The raised view over the beach and harbor mouth fits the lifeboat station, which stands on the east side of the harbor.

What is the weather like in Burry Port?

Mild and wet. Average highs run from about 8 C (47 F) in January to about 20 C (68 F) in July, with roughly 1,100 millimeters (43 inches) of rain a year.

Is the Burry Port lighthouse still working?

Yes. It was restored and relit in 1996 and flashes white every five seconds, with a range of 28 kilometers (15 nautical miles).

What is the land across the water from Burry Port?

The hills and dunes on the far shore belong to the Gower peninsula. Whiteford Lighthouse, off Whiteford Point, was discontinued in 1920 and is inactive today.

Where did Amelia Earhart land in Wales?

On the Loughor estuary off Burry Port, on 18 June 1928. The seaplane Friendship, flown by Wilmer Stultz with mechanic Louis Gordon, came down at 12:40 pm at low tide, and a monument unveiled on the harborside in 1930 marks the landing.

How far is Burry Port from Cefn Sidan beach?

About 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) along the Millennium Coastal Path to Pembrey Country Park, whose southern edge is Cefn Sidan.

Source: PC1 Limited