'Co~op' Wall

Anothe old drinking spot

This charming little view is looking from the Coop bridge down towards the harbour. The train you see was a coal train that used to take coal up to Carway, and the small, red brick wall was another favourite hang out/drinking spot of my friends and I in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Used to be a handy toilet across the road too.
Of course the years have drastically changed all this and these days where that wall is in the photo, there is now a busy roundabout and the coal trains have long since departed to a lost station somewhere in time.

Siop Alwyn

Croeso I Siop Alwyn

Siop Alwyn (Siop is Welsh for shop) was a barbers situated on top of Elkington road, near Achddu. I personally don't remember much about it because it was on its way to closing while I was barely in school but it was certainly very popular before then. The only thing I do remember is if any schoolboy had a basin/bowl style haircut, then others would say that he'd had a 'siop Alwyns'.
You could also buy sweets and soda drinks in Alwyns and probably cigarettes too. I wish little places like these were still opening instead of closing because you get the personal touch and gossip that supermarkets just cannot offer. There is so much character to them and this was definately true of Siop Alwyn's.

Penscynor Wildlife Park

Vintage: Penscynor car sticker

**** from guide ****

Penscynor Wildlife Park is home to some of the world’s most endangered and beautiful animals, all of which nestle amongst the trees, streams and gardens. Parrots, penguins, monkeys, apes and more are all just waiting to be discovered by visitors. You can touch and hold the animals in the Zoo Centre, feed the trout, llama, donkeys and deer, as well as experiencing the famous Alpine Slide. There is a playground in the grounds for children, as well as Bumpa Boats and much more. Visitors can enjoy a picnic or try the delights in one of the four cafes, as well as finding a special gift in one of the souvenir shops.

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When I saw that car sticker last night for the first time in years, I felt dizzy such was the rush of emotion/memories that flooded my brain upon seeing it. This wildlife park was one of THE places to go in the summer.
No it wasn't in Burry Port but Penscynor does bring back warm waves of joy to many 'Burryites' (as I discovered on Facebook last night when I uploaded photos) and therefore it deserves to be mentioned in this blog.


Chico in her enclosure

The park was in Cilfrew, Neath, not an especially long run up the motorway from Burry, and like Porthcawl it has a very dear place in my heart. Sadly it closed down in October 1998 and like many places, lives on only in peoples memories. I certainly does in mine. I have many many stories from Penscynor. One being the Alpine Ski Slide which was there, where children would hurtle down tracks shaped like toboggan runs on plastic carts with a brake lever sticking up from inbetween your legs. Of course being daredevils, my brother and I would barely touch the brake, letting the carts (and ourselves) almost shoot up the side of the run and flip over into heavy wilderness. And as we smashed into the tyres at the bottom (which were there to aid with stopping) our mum and the rest of the family would shriek in alarm. Fun!
Another time my dear grandmother handed a sweet to one of the chimpanzees, little knowing it was actually a toffee. The sight of the poor chimp sitting on a post, chewing this toffee was something which had to be seen. Im laughing now. One highlight was watching the seals in their enclosure, a concrete island surrounded by dark green water and whenever they submerged to swim underwater I would wish I was in there swimming alongside them in the murky waters.
Great place for picnics too, as long as you were away from the spitting lamas. And I remember the souvenir shop sold rubber chimps, snakes, and pens with Penscynor stencilled on the side. Wonderful times.
But looking at the photos (below) of how it is now, an empty shell, is so very depressing when one thinks back to how alive the park was, buzzing with sounds of families and animals. Im genuinely sorry that children f today will never know the delights of this wildlife park. For me Disney World had nothing on Penscynor.


Alpine slide


And the past withers

One Fine Horizon

Ah bliss!

One of the finest things you can do in Burry Port is also the most simple; buying a parcel of chips (with fish, pie, rissole, etc), taking it down the harbour and eating while watching the boats do their bobbing thing on the water. Or looking out toward the Gower. Take it from someone who has done this a thousand times, its grand.
Summer is the best time to do this but all year round works too. Careful how you go though, the sea air has a lethal effect on appetite and you might find yourself heading back for more chips! Those ones in the above photo I had from Bev's chip shop at the end of New Street but that chippy is no longer open. Luckily we are blessed with more than one great fish & chip shop in Burry Port, which means you ought to sample this 'chips down the harbour' delight a couple of times. Just to make sure *WINK*

Station Bridge

The crow's nest

More shots of the famous Station bridge that crosses the railtrack at Burry Port/Pembrey station. As I have written before on this blog, this was a very popular hang out spot for my friends and I from around 1988 until 1992 ish. The heart of the town, or the 'crow's nest' as I always thought of it.
Some notable places you can see from this bridge are Barrie's Plaice and The George on the left and the Portobello Inn over there on the right. Carry on up the right and you'll find The Hope & Anchor pub.
You can see now how conveniently placed the chip shops and pubs are in Burry. The merry drinker can almost fall into Barrie's for a rissole or pie after a session in the Port. Very handy!



This is a view of the bridge from the bottom of Stepney road. the big red building in the background is the Neptune Hotel. When I was a boy it was the Carbay club and was one of the first pubs I ever drank a Coke in. (Courtesy of my father). In my minds eye, I can still see inside as it used to be all those years ago, with the dark wine colour leather seating lining the walls and big set windows. Emotions can go a little haywire, especially when one thinks of all the times, good and bad, that have passed by since the Car Bay club closed.



This is approaching Station bridge from the harbour. The building to the immediate right is one of the old Jones Newsagents (or 'top shop' as my brother and I called it), and the place nextdoor (you can just see the red shutter) is Smartiland sweetshop. Every childs favourite place back in the day. Slush Puppies and red laces! In the 1970's it was simply called Ken Rees's after the owner.

Port Slang

Here is a list of slang words we used in Burry Port. Some words are not exclusive to the town but a few are. One or two even created by yours truly.

Nobbling ~ To be very cold.

Daps ~ Trainers/sports shoes

Pokey ~ Loud & good. This Motorhead record is Pokey!

Porthcawl ~ Say nothing. A cleaner way of saying 'say f**k all.' Say Porthcawl. Co created by me.

Shant ~ alcohol. Lets go on the shant!

Roots ~ cigarettes. Got any roots?

Gewk ~ powerful. This motorbike is gewkey!

Wog/Ceiff ~ to steal. Did you ceiff that?

Bread ~ money. Got any bread?

Creeping Death ~ temgesic drug. Created by me.

Moiled ~ crashed. You moiled on that skateboard. Can also mean wrecked. You moiled that skateboard well and truly.

Flim ~ five pounds. Can I borrow a flim?
Thanks to my friend Steffs Qualters for reminding me about this one.

The Ghost of Pembrey Hills

They hide a secret

The Pembrey hills stretch deep into Burry Port territory and provide a beautiful background to the seaside town, which is sandwiched between the hills and a rugged, wild coastline that faces the Gower.
These hills have proved popular for many years, especially during the summer season when schoolchildren free from the classroom would roam the hills to build dens, rope swings and use cardboard sheets to slide down the steeper areas, abandoning all thought for personal safety.
They were a fabulous place for picnics too owing to spectacular views of the coast. If you ever happen to find yourself in Burry Port, drive up to the 'Lookout' on the narrow lane from Isgraig and you will see exactly what I mean. Stunning!
But there is a darker story linked to the Pembrey hills.
Will Mani lived in Pinged and was a very cruel man with a foul reputatation. He beat his wife regularly, whether drunk or not and of friends he had few because people wisely chose to stay away from him. He would hide in the hedgerows on the hills and rob travelers who were going to Carmarthen on buisness. Mani was a brutal thug and seemingly proud of it.
In 1788 he added murder to his bumper list of crimes, after he killed a woman who was out walking on the hillsides. There was never any doubt of guilt. The cuff from his coat was found in his victim's hand and was identified by the tailor who made it. Will Mani's fate was sealed and he was hanged then gibbeted on the hill at Pensarn in Carmarthen.
It is said that his ghost still haunts those hills in Pembrey.

Burry's Ghosts and Myths

All villages have ghosts and Burry is no exception. For instance the Legion club is supposedly haunted and there have been people who have apparantly captured the spook on video camera. (Ive not seen any film myself). But plenty more colourful legends and myths have been believed to roam the towns fields and hillsides. Of course as these lush green parts grow less and less, so do the mysterious beastlies who roam them.
One was creepily called the Hook, who was rumoured to wander the Furnace Fields at night looking for children to terrify. As a boy I spent most of my spare time in those fields but (thankfully) never saw this character. To be honest I sensed almost immediately that the Hook was nothing more than a tall tale told by older children in an attempt to frighten the younger ones. But in the darker recesses of my mind, I hoped he did exist because I thrived on danger and having a deranged hook weilding guy hiding out in the hedges gave me a queer thrill.
Another less sinister myth was that of Miner 49er who was supposed to live in the hills and chased young people away if they got too near. There is a Miner 49er in the Scooby Doo cartoons so it isn't difficult to see where this came from.
The Pembrey/Burry Port hills have quite a few legends attached to them including the story of a group of runaway boys who decided to leave home and set up camp in the wilds. As is the way with these type of tales, more rumours were added as the years rolled on until this gang had supernatural abilities. Like the fact none of them ever aged out there in the woods, and only the young could see them.
The ghost of killer Will Mani is said to haunt the Pembrey hills and I have covered that story elsewhere on this site.

The Burry Element

The main drag

Porth Tywyn (Burry Port) is a lovely town but its schizophrenic as many small Welsh towns can be. In the summer its sunny as popcorn and as happy as the corn is snapping, but come winter it is grey, gossipy and neverending in its gloom. Locals are happiest in complaint, content in the towns back-to-back intimacy as long as the beer is cold and flowing.
Do not be fooled by the photograph above. It might look quiet and deserted but there is a local lurking behind one of the many lamposts, just waiting to pounce with the 'gen' (rumours) or the price of 'fags' (cigarettes). And its lovely, it really is.