The town nestles below the University. I like the place already, with its second-hand bookshops, vinyl record store and narrow streets leading to the ruined castle on the seafront. A quiet Sunday morning; the students are either not back yet or sleeping off a late Saturday night.
There’s only one southbound bus today, so I can’t continue from Cardigan, settling for a short walk from Llanrhystud, which I practised saying over breakfast this morning, to avoid mumbling for a ticket.
I join the 60-mile Ceredigion Coast Path running from Cardigan to Ynyslas. It’s another cold and windy day, but the path wanders across beautiful grassy undulating hills; there are no cliff edges to negotiate.
Despite the heavy cloud and sea fret, the landscape is gorgeous. A red kite circles above the flanking hilltop.
A ruined house provides shelter from the chilling wind for a quick sandwich. A hot drink would be nice, but I find the benefit is less than the loss of body heat through being stationary long enough to set up and boil a brew. I prefer to keep moving. Maybe I should consider a small flask although that’s more weight to carry when I’m camping. Always a trade-off.
Another red kite soars overhead. The nearby Bwlch Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre has daily feeding of up to 150 red kites; they must fill the sky.
After lunch, the rain hits again. Head down, I climb the wrong hill and have to trudge back down, although there was the compensation of a heron taking off from a small pond only feet away. They look so ungainly when they start moving — someone unkindly described one as an unfolding clothes horse — and yet rise in the air so quickly, spreading those vast wings.
The rain does offer some photo opportunities.
An exposed ridge leads to Tanybwlch Beach and a fine view of Aberystwyth beneath the towering Pen Dinas. Snowdonia is sadly hidden in the dark clouds.
Hypnotic waves crash against the harbour breakwater.
Do I follow the quirky local tradition of walking to the end of the promenade to “kick the bar” or retire to the warmth of the Ship & Castle, recommended in my CAMRA guide? A few minutes later I’m enjoying a pint of Harvest Pale ale and listening to the bar-stool banter of the late afternoon regulars.
Climbing back to the University, I realise my room has a pinboard. Whatever happened to my Debbie Harry poster?
Walk distance: 11 miles.
Total distance: 2,548 miles.
A lovely walk.
Aberystwyth was my old stomping ground but never walked south much. Great to read the report. Looking forward to hearing of the walks north in due course!
Ah. Did you live there or go to Uni there? I really liked the town. Looking forward to Snowdonia and the Lleyn Peninsula in February. I have my paper OS map ready for Cadair Idris. 🙂
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A lovely write up Tony. I also stayed in Aberystwyth for this section and thought it was a nice town (I was surprised to find the station has a Whetherspoon within it too, which was handy for breakfast before taking the train). I’m glad I’m not the only one that battles with how to say Welsh place names to bus drivers. I’ve sometimes had to spell it out or show them on the map I’ve made such a mess of saying it!
I thought the Ceredigion coast path was as nice as Pembrokeshire, but with fewer people. Though most of the Wales Coast path is lovely, just some of the industrial bits around Newport and Port Talbot not so good (although the North Wales coast is spoilt a bit by the A55).
Thanks Jon. I had a curry and a pint at the Whetherspoons. You know what you are getting.
I agree that the Ceredigion coast path is as nice as the PCP. Tbh they are both quiet at the times of year I tend to hike. 🙂
I’m always changing my plans but I’m now thinking of carrying on and completing the Wales Coast Path before returning to Scotland, apart from a break to hike the East Highland Way at the end of March.
My old stomping ground too! It all looked so familiar, and as for that view looking down over Tanybwlch beach – well that was a view I saw every day when I was a student and my hall of residence was Tanybwlch, the mansion that sits amongst the trees on the hillside. It’s changed quite a bit but it was an idyllic place to live and Aberystwyth was a great place to be a student.
Did you see the big blow hole, Monk’s Hole (I think I can see it in your second photo)? It’s quite impressive and I remember cycling down to it one evening and watching the sunset over Cardigan Bay while sitting on the edge of it.
I can see why it is popular with students. I spent six nights there and it felt so compact and full of character. Any town with a Waterstones bookshop gets my vote!
I missed the blow hole. It was a pretty wild, wet and windy day. I may have had my head down at that point. 🙂
Beautiful coastline.