The seaside town of Aberystwyth is a logical middle-of-the-way stopover on a trek between South and North Wales. Its quay is a nice-looking promenade on a sunny day, but its central streets felt rather deserted on a Saturday night in late March, more so than we expected.
Steep elevation on the town’s northern edge, Constitution Hill, lends great views over town and the nearby coastline. Use Cliff Railway funicular to get to the top (although we have seen people walking up).
About 12 miles away from town lies the popular Devil’s Bridge ♥♥♥. The trail takes you down to the valley floor around a series of dramatic waterfalls in a wooded ravine, and is a marvelous hour-long hiking exploration. A word of caution: Very steep stairs, both down and up; not suitable for everyone.
In summer, you should be able to take the narrow-gauge Vale or Rheidol Railway from Aberystwyth to the Devil’s Bridge, but that option only works if you spending the whole day in the area, since the train only makes a couple of trips a day in each direction, and it is not feasible by my estimation to get on the earliest departure back to Aberystwyth if you want to appreciate the waterfalls to any degree.
Places to eat
Likely due to the season (late March), we did not have a choice of eateries that we expected in Aberystwyth. We picked a Mediterranean place with nice ambience, Le Casablanca ♥, a block or so away from the central town square. Everything we ended up ordering was quite tasty, but a number of items on an already-limited menu was not available (including all of Becky’s initial selections). The restaurant does not have a liquor license, so the convenience store across the street has no shortage of wine-buying customers. Before I could make a trip, though, the restaurant owner offered us a bottle of merlot that was apparently left behind by previous customers. We were not charged anything for that bottle, either because they forgot or to maintain the no-liquors-sold-here appearance. The bill was handwritten and the payment accepted in cash only, so I am sure they could charge us for the wine… Our damage: £55 for a two-course dinner for three people (Kimmy shared in our orders), plus one dessert, including tips. Last visit: Spring 2008.