Stori Brymbo

Museum

Explorer Tom

Stori Brymbo has a fossil forest beside the remains of an industrial site, which is a fair amount of history to fit into one visit. Ancient roots and old steelworks tell different chapters of the same ground. Tom says the trees came back to inspect the furnaces; they have been waiting 314 million years for a safety briefing. Work at the former Brymbo steelworks uncovered the fossil forest in 2003. The operator describes trees and root networks preserved from about 314 million years ago, long before the coal and iron industries transformed this part of Wrexham. The visitor attraction joins that deep natural history to the steelworks heritage and the lives of the people who worked here. Excavation and preservation are continuing, so this is an active heritage place rather than a finished display behind glass. Brymbo Heritage Trust leads the project with local community involvement. Explore the public exhibition spaces and look for the link between the buried forest and the fuel that later drove industry. A guided fossil or heritage tour, when offered, can bring you closer to work still under way. Tom has volunteered to dig, but staff sensibly require more care than his enthusiasm provides. The changing displays and events make a return visit worthwhile. Keep to the areas opened by the staff; conservation work is part of what you are seeing. Stori Brymbo's site says it is open to visitors and publishes tickets, visiting times and events. Check those pages before travelling, since special conditions or weather can alter access. Its coffeehouse and gallery have different entry arrangements from the paid main visit. Bring curiosity for both the fossils and the steelworkers: neither story makes sense without the other.

What is recorded here

Map note: There is a map point for Stori Brymbo, a museum near Brymbo, Wrexham, Wales. The name caught our eye; the map shows what else is nearby.

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) n13478071097

This does not grant access. Check current paths, opening conditions and ownership before entering.