Llanymynech Limeworks reveals a remarkable industrial past, centred on its rare Hoffmann Kiln and towering chimney, with quarries, tramways, cliffs and sculptures bringing Shropshire’s lime heritage alive.
View a full access guide to the site.
Llanymynech Limeworks Heritage Area
Towering kiln & industrial heritage
Getting there & parking
Located just off the A483 in Llanymynech beside the old canal.
A small parking area is available off the A483 at the Canal & River Trust depot and is open all the time. Alternatively, you can park in the car park behind the Dolphin pub just to the west of the crossroads in the village, or start in Pant at the (signed) Shropshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve car park at the end of Underhill Lane.
By Bus
Opening times
The site is open all the time. The education room must be pre-booked.
The education room in the former stable block is available for group hire. For rates and availability, please go to the booking form.
Things to see & do
Hoffman Limekiln
Visit one of only 3 remaining Hoffman Kilns in the country and explore it both inside and out! Used for the continual 'burning' of lime, it was adapted from a brick kiln.Wander through woods, meadows and along a section of the Montgomery canal. The site covers a large area with a variety of different habitats and a diverse range of flora and fauna to explore freely.
Follow the trails
Take a wander up to Llanymynech Rocks—a former limestone quarry turned wildlife haven. Now cared for by Shropshire Wildlife Trust, it’s a hotspot for limestone-loving plants, fluttering butterflies, and a patchwork of habitats that hum with life. Add in the sweeping views across the Shropshire landscape, and you’ve got nature doing what it does best.
The Hoffman Hike is a 3 mile walk following the Offa’s Dyke Path and the Montgomery Canal takes in the remains of the area’s once thriving limestone industry.
Easy Access Walking Route – guide to accessible paths around the site.
Discover Shropshire Family Friendly: Llanymynech Looniness – A 1 mile circular walk around Llanymynech Heritage Area.
Become a time detective
Interpretation panels around the heritage site will help you discover how Llanymynech's once thriving quarries and lime works operated and how people's lives were affected by the changes over the years.
For schools and youth groups
An Education Pack is also available. For more information about The Llanymynech Limeworks Heritage Area visit the official site website web site: www.llanylime.co.uk
What's special about...
Llanymynech Limeworks is a remarkable window into Britain’s industrial heritage. At its heart stands the impressive Hoffmann Kiln—one of only three surviving examples in the country and the only one with its chimney still proudly intact. This towering structure forms the centrepiece of a nationally important landscape that once hummed with quarrying, tramways, inclined planes, and lime shipments travelling by canal and rail.
In its heyday, this was a major hub of the lime industry, and traces of that activity remain etched across the site. Explore the dramatic limestone cliffs of the English and Welsh quarries, follow the old tramway routes and gravity-fed inclines, and step inside the vast kiln itself. Life‑size sculptures of workers help bring the past vividly to life, making it easy to imagine the noise, energy, and hard graft that once defined this valley. It’s a place where the story of Shropshire’s working landscape is told on a grand and unforgettable scale.
Join the Llimeys
You can join the Friends of the Llanymynech Limeworks Heritage Area (known fondly as The Llimeys)
