Bakeries in Llanelli

The baking story of Llanelli

Llanelli was once the tinplate capital of the world, and the town is still affectionately known as Tre-sosban — saucepan town. The tinplate works turned out pots and pans, and the town's rugby anthem, 'Sosban Fach' ('Little Saucepan'), together with the saucepans fixed on top of the rugby posts, celebrates the link. Workers in the tinplate mills, steelworks and nearby collieries needed sustaining food, and teisen lap, a moist fruit cake that would not crumble in a lunch tin, was a favourite. Welsh cakes and bara brith remain bakery staples, and across the Loughor estuary lies Penclawdd, famous for cockles that turn up in Llanelli breakfasts with laverbread and bacon.

Local bakes to look out for

• Teisen lap – A moist, shallow fruit cake once packed in miners' and tinworkers' lunches.
• Welsh cake – A buttery griddle cake with currants.
• Bara brith – A tea-soaked fruit loaf, sliced and buttered.

Bakery hunter's tip: Explore Llanelli Market and the town centre, then follow the Millennium Coastal Path for views across the estuary to the Gower.

Did you know? Llanelli's nickname, Tre-sosban, comes from its tinplate works, which produced cooking pots and pans among much else.