Few industrial ruins are quite as picturesque as these abandoned brickworks. With their long, straight chimney stacks and arches, the three circular domed buildings resemble something created by a lost civilisation.
Porth Wen – a Welsh name meaning ‘White Bay’ – is a cove tucked away on Anglesey’s north coast in an area of outstanding natural beauty, flanked by dramatic cliffs and emerald-green hills. This region has a unique geology. Millions of years ago, tectonic plates butted up against each other here, heating and compressing rocks, producing a hard stone known as quartzite.
From the 19th century, this stone was used to produce strong, durable firebricks that could withstand the immense heat of steel furnaces. From 1888 until the late 1940s, firebricks shipped out of the works on the bay’s western shore helped build Britain’s steel industry.
The geography here was, though, far less conducive to industry than the geology was. The seas and coast were extremely difficult for ships to navigate, the tides were strong and constantly changing, and heavy swells rolled across the bay. When conditions were particularly bad, the small boats that carried goods from the site faced serious danger.
How can you visit Porth Wen?
Porth Wen has become very popular, and in peak season badly parked cars sometimes block the lanes. Approach on foot or mountain bike along the Anglesey Coast Path. Note that the brickworks are private property.
