Major Community-Led Heritage Attraction opens in Brymbo, Wrexham.
Stori
Brymbo
Situated on the historic site of the former Brymbo Steelworks, 5 miles north west of Wrexham.
Now open for bookings from July 10 2026, the project tells a unique "300 million year journey" connecting three distinct eras: Nature, Industry, and People. We attend their official opening ceremony celebrating all of their hard work.
Celebrate the rich heritage of Brymbo in Wrexham.
Preserving
The
Past
Managed by the Brymbo Heritage Trust, Stori Brymbo aims to regenerate the local area through education, tourism, and sustainability. It serves as a learning centre for the public, local schools and universities, highlighting prehistoric ecosystems and blending geological wonder with industrial archaeology. The attraction celebrates the resilience of our local community while securing the site’s future as a premier destination for the whole of North Wales.
Official
Opening
Welcomed by Stori Brymbo CEO Nicola Eaton-Sawford and declared officially open with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony by the Mayor of Wrexham, Councillor Jeremy Kent, we attended Stori Brymbo's formal opening 2nd July 2026.
Being an official public event we also heard from Nigel Williams, Lead Member for Economy, Business and Tourism and Wrexham Council CEO, Alwyn Jones.
The event was very well attended by locals and many who had personal connections to the history of the site.
Long-term
Vision
Nicola (or Nikki as she prefers) has lived in Wrexham most of her life, and joined the organisation back in 2024 to lead the charity and oversee the ambitious development of the heritage site.
Brymbo steelworks closed operations back in 1990 having started off as far back as 1796, being very much a significant site in Wrexham's industrial past.
Nikki spoke about it being dormant for some 13,000 days and why it was so important right now to bring its rich history back to life for the people of and visitors to Wrexham.
Talented
Team
Hidden beneath Brymbo for millions of years, the Fossil Forest is one of the most significant pre-historic discoveries in the UK. We spoke with some of the team now based at their brand new visitor centre and experience.
Tim is an experienced palaeontologist, who has travelled all over the world. He told us he saw the potential right here at Stori Brymbo over 8 years ago and couldn't wait to be involved.
We also met with Victoria who works in operations support and welcomes vistors as part of their Welcome Desk team.
Getting there
Bus
Route 12: Departs from Wrexham Bus Station (Stand 8) and travels via Pentre Broughton to Brymbo. Bus stop outside. The journey takes approximately 24 minutes.
Route 14: Departs from Wrexham and travels via Tanyfron to Brymbo.
Buses generally run every 15–30 minutes depending on the time of day.
Drive
From Wrexham: Head northwest on Regent Street towards Lord Street.
Continue onto A525 (Mold Road).
Follow the A525 through Pentre Broughton and up the hill towards Brymbo.
Once in Brymbo, turn left onto New High Street (just past the Brymbo Institute).
Stori Brymbo will be on your left at LL11 5AX. Look for designated visitor parking.
We get a hands-on-behind-the-scenes experience, on a closed film set with some of Wrexham's leading independent filmmakers, and the creation of content for Stori Brymbo.
And...
Action!
Through our connections with Minera Studios, we were invited to the studios whilst they were working on a film commission for a local client of theirs – Stori Brymbo, based just north of Wrexham. We got behind the scenes to experience and see exactly how they deliver professional filming services first hand.
Stori Brymbo is a heritage project focused on conserving, restoring, and celebrating the natural, industrial, and social history of Brymbo. The project aims to revitalise the site, which was once a thriving steelworks, and transform it into a visitor attraction that tells the story of a 300-million-year journey from a carboniferous forest through industrialisation and into its current reinvention.
Minera Studios Cymru have been appointed to bring Stori Brymbo’s history to life with actors recreating what everyday life for the workers based at the steelworks would have been like in the 1980’s – during its heyday as a world class manufacturer.
We arrived mid-morning and got to see the actors going through make-up and getting ready for shooting, see their live filmed rehearsals and hear the subsequent mentoring and feedback from the experienced team. They were all working to strict deadlines in a high-tech setting and capturing live filmed content and performances that will support the planned visitor attraction for years to come.
We also spoke to Ian himself, who is from Flint originally and now lives in nearby Chester. He explained to me the challenges of building a film studio business, and how their growing team source new opportunities and commissions. Ian explained the team are fortunate to regularly film at and use the green and black screen facilities at the Creative Studios based at Wrexham University – also well known locally as the grass roofed building with the sheep on, located off the Mold Road roundabout on the outskirts of town.
Finally, we spent a few minutes with Craig Blackwell, who was the lead actor performing whilst we were there. Craig’s performance was that more meaningful to him personally as he explained to me after filming that his grandad – Robert Thomas Blackwell - actually worked at Brymbo Steelworks as a second-hand smelter in the 1980’s. His nickname was ‘Budgie’ and was thoughtfully named in the filming. Craig was particularly proud of his direct family connection to both projects – Stori Brymbo and Minera Studios - and what that will mean to the thousands of visitors who will hear him perform stories that are about his own family.
We really look forward to experiencing the tour at Stori Brymbo and seeing Craig’s performance for ourselves when it opens to the public in July 2026, all thanks to the talented team at Minera Studios Cymru making it happen.
For more information visit Minera Studios Cymru and Stori Brymbo below.