Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
but with gaily-painted Georgian buildings. There are friendly pubs, good fish-and-
chip shops and the quay-side Harbourmaster Hotel (see “Where to Eat & Stay,”
below), which puts together the lively Cardigan Bay Seafood Festival each July.
ABERYSTWYTH
This respected university town has an oddly bohemian yet
bookish feel to it. The little horseshoe-shaped North Beach is dark and shingly,
hemmed in by tall Edwardian B&B-type places. A gentle seafront stroll takes you past
the John Nash-designed college building and up to the ruins of the castle built by
Edward I during his conquest of Wales (which is open at all times; free admission).
There's a huge climbing frame in the little adjoining park, as well as a grassy area and
picnic tables. As you round the small, rocky headland the view opens out with a long,
blustery promenade and the more attractive South Beach, which ends at a little quay-
side. The Cliff Railway, dating from 1896, creeps up the 130-m (465-ft.) Constitution
Hill, at the far end of North Beach, to a cafe and picnic area. In town, the
Ceredi-
gion
(Cardigan)
Museum
on Terrace Road (www.ceredigion.gov.uk) is housed in the
Coliseum, a former Edwardian music hall. It's free and has an engaging collection of
reconstructed rooms, farming implements, and other local bits and pieces. The
Ultracomida
deli, 31 Pier St. (
&
01970/630686;
www.ultracomida.co.uk), has a
Spanish-Welsh-French flavor, with lots of local cheese; the little restaurant behind
the shop serves tapas/deli lunch dishes and on Friday and Saturday (7-9pm) there's
a dinner menu with cross-cultural dishes such as Ceredigion lamb chops marinated
in harissa and olive oil, with olive-oil mash (£11 for two courses, £15 with Welsh and
French cheeses).
BORTH
A curious little seaside town just north of Aberystwyth (from where you
can get a train), Borth features one long road running alongside the beach, although
in some places the views are blotted out by the buildings. Leave the car at the parking
area at the T-junction, and cross over to the 2-mile stretch of sand. When the tide's
in it is a narrow strip of stones up against the sea wall, but when it's out it's really out.
It's a trifle windswept but is a great place for games, and there are even donkey rides.
Drive out the other side for one of the real delights of the coast. The road ends amid
the giant, white sand dunes of the
Dyfi National Nature Reserve
at Ynys-
las, at the mouth of the River Dyfi (Dovey), with Aberdyfi (Aberdovey) across the
water. You can park on the hard sand, and the feel is California cool. There's a mod-
ern, wooden building across a meandering boardwalk with a cafe and toilets.
18
Dolaucothi Gold Mine
Arrive here and you know you're in a
real mine, old buildings and discarded
machinery in a quarry-like setting criss-
crossed by narrow-gauge rail tracks.
Children can pan for gold, play in the
activity room, and generally run about,
but the real action is below ground.
Here you can tour some of the tunnels,
which date back to Roman times,
and which were used well into the last
century. The underground tour is dark
and fascinating. The mine is at Pum-
saint, Llanwrda (
&
01558/650177;
www.nationaltrust.org.uk). Admission is
£3.60 adults, £1.80 children 5 to 15, and
£9 family ticket; underground tour is
£3.80 adults, £1.90 children, and £9.50
family ticket. Daily mid-March to Octo-
ber 11am to 5pm (6pm July-Aug).
