The Millennium Coastal Park was originally a project undertaken by

Llanelli Borough Council The Borough of Llanelli was one of six local government districts of the county of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts ...

to transform a 12 miles stretch of industrial wasteland on the south

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

coast into green parkland. The project was then taken over by

Carmarthenshire County Council Carmarthenshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin) is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It provides a range of services including education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The counc ...

after the amalgamation of Welsh local authorities and the land was transformed into a landscaped recreational area for the general public. The park is 1000 hectares in area, cost £35 million to develop and in 2002 was awarded a

Civic Trust Award The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. As the longest standing built environment awards scheme in Europe, since 1959, more than 7000 projects have ...

. It has extensive views over the Lloughor Estuary to the

Gower Peninsula Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

. It includes a cycle track which provides traffic-free cycling and has been described as "one of the finest stretches of the whole National Cycle Network". Another feature is a wave-shaped, grass-covered landform, created from pulverised fuel ash, a form of "land art". Another part of the project is the Burry Port Marina which provides berthing for 250 craft in three harbours. The Discovery Centre on the waterfront provides information on the park and its facilities. The Lloughor estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is within the Carmarthen Bay Special Area of Conservation. The Millennium Coastal Park offers various wildlife habitats such as wetlands and rough grassland, and these are preserved in the Pwll Lagoon Local Nature Reserve, the Ashpits Pond Local Nature Reserve and the North Dock Dunes Local Nature Reserve. The park offers views of the

on the other side of the

Loughor estuary The River Loughor () ( cy, Afon Llwchwr) is a river in Wales which marks the border between Carmarthenshire and Swansea. The river is sourced from an underground lake at the Black Mountain emerging at the surface from Llygad Llwchwr which tran ...

, and features a variety of visitor attractions including the North Dock visitor centre, National Wetlands Centre Wales at Penclacwydd and Sandy Water Park. The Millennium Coastal Path (a stretch of the Celtic Trail cycle route, also known as

National Cycle Route The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

4) runs through the park.

References

{{reflist Llanelli Geography of Carmarthenshire

See also

References