The iron and concrete pier of the Hornillo bay

In the town of Águilas, the Embarcadero de El Hornillo holds a peculiar tale, a vestige of its prosperous past tied to the 19th and 20th centuries' lead and silver discoveries in the Sierra de la Almagrera. Opened in 1903, this ancient pier served the region until the 1960s when the ports of Cartagena and Alicante took over.

Declared as a Bien de Interés Cultural, the pier was initially constructed as a metallic and concrete structure, spanning 178 meters and standing 12 meters tall, boasting a 40-meter metal bridge connecting to Águilas station. In 2017, it was opened to the public as a railway museum of local history with restored access tunnels.

While the museum is open, access to the track beach of the pier remains prohibited. The site serves as a reminder of the mining activity that gave rise to the railway and the construction of the pier in the bay of the same name.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons