What the Cable Inglés is

The Cable Inglés is the El Alquife mineral loading pier on Almería's Playa de las Almadrabillas, built between 1902 and 1904 for The Alquife Mines and Railway Company Limited to ship iron ore from Alquife in Granada province. The Scottish engineer John Ernest Harrison designed it, and King Alfonso XIII inaugurated it on 27 April 1904.

Its two sections ran from the railway station to the shore and then out over the water almost 19 metres above the sea, with rails on the deck feeding side hoppers that tipped ore into ships. The structure used about 4,000 tonnes of Scottish steel, and a ship of 8,000 tonnes could be loaded in an estimated eight to ten hours.

Where it is

The pier stands on Playa de las Almadrabillas beside the Muelle de Levante, at the end of a railway branch from the station. Its address for mapping is Playa de las Almadrabillas, 04001 Almería.

Opening hours and entry

Access to the pedestrian walkway is free and it is open every day from 09:00 to 21:00, a single timetable given for the whole week; there is no separate summer closing time.

How to get there

There are three pedestrian entrances: from Parque de la Estación, from Carretera de Ronda at the height of Calle Sagunto, and from Carretera Sierra Alhamilla. Entry is free and available until the 250-person capacity is reached, and the monument is accessible for people with reduced mobility.

Walking the pier

Allow about 20 minutes for the route, which follows the approach section over stone arches and iron beams before reaching the loading jetty itself. Walk out to the end for the open sea view back along the bay; the deck is exposed iron, so there is no shade at midday.

What you are looking at

The large side hoppers are the mechanism that made this a machine as much as a pier: ore arrived by rail, was stored in the hoppers, and tipped by gravity into the holds of ships below. Look for the line of the rails along the deck and the height of the jetty above the water, which made direct loading possible.

The restoration turned a working loading dock into a promenade, but the ironwork, the hoppers and the deck rails are the original machinery rather than decoration. Reading them in that order — tracks, storage, drop — makes the structure legible as a single loading process.

History in brief

Loading ceased in 1970 and the Junta de Andalucía declared the structure a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1998. After two phases of restoration, the port authority reopened it as a pedestrian promenade and a viewpoint over the sea.

Timing your visit

The iron deck offers little shelter from the sun, so in summer go early or in the evening rather than at midday. Late afternoon and evening give the softest light over the bay.

Nearby after the pier

The pier sits in the port zone beside Playa de las Almadrabillas, so you can step off the deck and stay on the waterfront. Almería's old town lies further on, with the Alcazaba and the Almería Cathedral making a natural next stop; both are covered in our guides to the Alcazaba de Almería and the Almería Cathedral.

The Alcazaba is the city's Moorish fortress and the cathedral is the fortified church in the old centre, both a short walk from the port area if you want to continue sightseeing. The Refugios de la Guerra Civil, the civil-war air-raid shelters, are also in the city centre if you prefer an indoor visit.

Is the Cable Inglés worth a stop?

The Cable Inglés suits a short, free stop that gives you sea air and a clear piece of Almería's industrial history in about 20 minutes. Go early or late in summer, and pair it with the old town if you want a fuller half-day in the city.