Cable Inglés (Almería)

The Cable Inglés (English Cable) is a steel iron-ore loading pier of 1904 on the seafront of Almería, by the Muelle de Levante at the eastern end of the port, now restored as a walkway and viewpoint over the sea. It is about 1 km south-east of the Alcazaba and 0.8 km from the intermodal bus and train station, and you walk onto it along a raised path from the park beside the old railway station. Access is free, but the Andalusian tourist board says you need to book the walk on the Cable Inglés website. It suits anyone who likes industrial heritage or a view of the port; skip it if you only have time for the old town.

Quick facts

• Names: Cable Inglés in Spanish; officially the Cargadero de Mineral (ore loading pier), also called the El Alquife pier or Alquife Wharf.
• Where: Playa de las Almadrabillas, beside the Muelle de Levante of the port of Almería, at the end of a former railway branch.
• Coordinates: 36.8317, -2.4637 (the pier, OpenStreetMap).
• Built: for The Alquife Mines and Railway Company, a British company based in Glasgow; inaugurated on 27 April 1904, during a visit by King Alfonso XIII.
• In use: 1904 to September 1970.
• Protection: Bien de Interés Cultural (heritage site) since 1998.
• Open to the public: since 4 April 2023, as a walkway and viewpoint.
• Entry: free; book the walk in advance on the Cable Inglés website.

History

In the late 19th century, iron ore from the Alquife mines in the province of Granada arrived in Almería by the Linares–Almería railway, opened in 1899. At the port it was carried in mule carts and loaded onto barges by hand. To speed this up, The Alquife Mines and Railway Company applied in 1900 to build a deep-water loading pier (Spanish Wikipedia).

The project by the engineer John Ernst Harrison was built with 3,824 tonnes of steel from the foundries of Motherwell in Scotland. Loaded wagons ran from the railway station, about 900 m away, up onto the pier and emptied by gravity into hoppers inside the structure; from there the ore dropped through chutes into the ships moored alongside. Loading an 8,000-tonne ship went from 8 or 10 days to about 10 hours.

A second, more modern pier, the Cable Francés, was built 500 m to the south-east a few years later. Traffic on the Cable Inglés declined after the Civil War and stopped in September 1970. A proposal to protect it in 1984 started a long local debate, as many people wanted it pulled down, and it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1998. The Andalusian tourist board calls it a masterpiece of early 20th-century iron architecture.

What to expect

Restoration began in December 2010 with a first phase that reinforced the structure and tidied its surroundings. In a second phase from 2020, the Almería port authority added lighting and a raised pedestrian path from the park by the old station, and the walkway over the sea opened on 4 April 2023 (Spanish Wikipedia). On OpenStreetMap this path is a wooden-surfaced viaduct of about 300 m that follows the old railway line from the station area to the pier.

From the end you look back at the port, the marina, the Parque de las Almadrabillas and the city, with the Alcazaba on its hill. The pier is a structure to walk over, not a museum: there are no exhibits inside, and the interest is the riveted steelwork and the view.

Just inland stands the old railway station of 1893, an iron-and-glass building that the Andalusian tourist board describes as open for a visit from outside. Spanish Wikipedia says its ticket office reopened in July 2024; trains and buses now use the intermodal station next door (Spanish Wikipedia, Estación de Almería).

Practical details

Booking: the tourist board says the walk on the pier needs a booking on the Cable Inglés website, and Spanish Wikipedia says access is free. We could not open the port authority or booking pages from our setup, so we give no opening times: check them before you go.

On foot: from the Paseo de Almería or the Parque de Nicolás Salmerón it is a short walk east along the seafront to the Almadrabillas park. From the intermodal station it is about 0.8 km in a straight line.

By car: park in the city and walk; we found no car park for the pier itself.

Accessibility and safety

Best time to visit

Late afternoon and evening give the best light on the city and the Alcazaba; the second restoration phase added lighting, so the pier is also lit after dark. In summer avoid the middle of the day.

Nearby alternatives

• Almería Cathedral, 0.8 km away: the 16th-century fortress cathedral in the old town.
• Alcazaba de Almería, 1 km away: the 10th-century fortress whose walls you see from the pier.
• Almería Civil War Shelters, 1.1 km away: the 1937 air-raid tunnels under the Paseo de Almería.
• Museum of Almería, 1.1 km away: the province’s archaeology museum.
• Los Millares, 15 km away: the Copper Age settlement inland.

Distances are in a straight line from the pier. For the rest of the city and its beaches, see our Almería guide and the Almería city area guide.

FAQ

What is the Cable Inglés in Almería?

An iron-ore loading pier built by a British mining company and opened in 1904. Ore trains ran onto it and emptied straight into ships. It worked until 1970 and is now a protected monument and a walkway over the sea.

Can you walk on the Cable Inglés?

Yes. Since April 2023 a raised path leads onto the pier. Entry is free, and the Andalusian tourist board says you book the walk on the Cable Inglés website.

Where is the Cable Inglés?

On the seafront at the Playa de las Almadrabillas, by the Muelle de Levante at the eastern end of the port, about 0.8 km from the intermodal station (36.8317, -2.4637).

Why is it called the English Cable?

It was built for a British company, The Alquife Mines and Railway Company, with steel from Scotland. A later pier nearby is known as the Cable Francés.

Is there parking at the Cable Inglés?

We found no car park for the pier itself. It is in the city centre, so park in town and walk.

Sources and freshness