Ceredigion Tourist Information

Ceredigion, on the west coast of mid Wales, is a favourite holiday destination, with a coastal path covering 60 miles of the Marine Heritage Coast Path around Cardigan Bay. Along the coast there are historic harbours and award-winning beaches, suitable for families and water sport enthusiasts.

Inland Ceredigion has lovely unspoiled countryside where walking, cycling, fishing and golf can be enjoyed. In the east of the county are the rugged Cambrian Mountains, ideal terrain for climbing and mountain biking. Ceredigion Tourist Information can be found at most of the towns around the coast.

Ceredigion Tourist Information is located in Theatr Mwldan in Cardigan - the theatre has an all year programme of entertainment a gallery and restaurant. Cardigan, once ‘capital’ of the county, is a busy market town with Georgian and Victorian buildings and attractive shops. Cardigan castle dating from the 12th century is undergoing extensive restoration. Situated on the River Teifi estuary, Cardigan is an ideal base for exploring the Teifi River Trail and Nature Reserve and the lovely Teifi valley.

Cardigan’s attractions include the Cardigan Heritage Centre, telling the story of the town from Norman times. Across the estuary at Gwbert-On-Sea is Cardigan Island Coastal Farm Park, the best place in Wales to see seals in their natural habitat. In the Teifi valley is Cilgerron Castle, one of Wales’s first tourist attractions. Six miles from Cardigan is Felinwynt Rainforest and Butterfly Farm.

North of Cardigan are the seaside villages of Aberporth, with two safe award-winning golden sandy beaches and Llangranog which lies in a valley, with a ravine where the river Hawen forms a waterfall. The lower beach village is a quiet seaside holiday spot, with a walk up from the village around the headland of Ynys Lochtyn with spectacular views.

Ceredigon Tourist Information can be found in Church Street, New Quay, a popular holiday resort for families, with a sheltered harbour and safe beaches. The town is built on the cliffs overlooking Cardigan Bay, between narrow terraced streets, there are ropewalks where rope was twisted in the days when New Quay was a shipbuilding centre. Boat trips into the bay to see Bottle-nosed Dolphins sail on a regular basis. Dylan Thomas was a resident in New Quay in 1944-5 where he wrote 'Quite Early One Morning'. A Dylan Thomas town trail can be walked, including the path along the cliffs enjoyed by the poet.

Ceredigion Tourist Information centre can be found on The Quay, in Aberaeron. The Reverend Alban Jones Gwynne planned the town in the early 19th century, it has many interesting historic architectural features and a sheltered harbour popular with visiting yachtsmen. South of the town is the 18th century Welsh gentry estate of Llanerchaeron, designed by John Nash. There are many original features, a working organic farm and two restored walled gardens.

A tourist holiday in Ceredigion often starts in Aberystwyth, the largest town and administrative centre of the County whose history goes back over 700 years. The town is built between three hills and has a pier and harbour, with Victorian and Edwardian buildings along the seafront. There are pebble and sandy beaches and a ruined Norman castle surrounded by public gardens. The Aberystwyth Electric Cliff Railway is the longest electric cliff railway in Britain, climbing Constitution Hill from the promenade, to the Victorian camera obscura.

Aberystwyth is the home of the University of Wales, with several thousand students adding to the town’s vibrant atmosphere. The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth houses many literary treasures of Wales and other Celtic countries including the illuminated 'Black Book of Carmarthen'.

Aberystwyth's attractions include Ceredigion Museum, housed in the former Coliseum Theatre, with a fine collection of historic artefacts, and the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, a department of the University of Wales which also houses a concert hall, theatre and holds a wide range of events.

A few miles north is the old fishing village of Borth, where Ceredigon Tourist Information can be found in Cambrian Terrace. The award winning golden sandy beach leads to Dyfi National Nature Reserve. An attraction in Borth to delight animal lovers is the Borth Animalarium.

From Aberystwyth you can take a trip on the Vale of Rheidol Railway, a narrow gauge railway, with rails less than two feet apart. The journey passes through the lovely Rheidol valley rising over 600 feet, terminating at Devil’s Bridge where you can see the three bridges over the river, along the famous 300 foot Mynach Falls, the Devil’s Punch Bowl and Jacob’s Ladder.

South of Devil's Bridge is Strata Florida Abbey, or 'Vale of Flowers'. The ruined 12th century Cistercian Abbey still displays many intriguing features of its past status.

The unspoiled area of Wales around Tregaron contains sites such as the National Nature Reserve Cors Goch Glan Teifi, one of Europe's largest growing Peat bogs, home to many rare species of flora and fauna, where the Red Kite may be seen.

Lampeter is a market town on the north bank of the River Teifi, home to St. David’s College established in 1822, after Oxford and Cambridge the oldest degree awarding institution in England and Wales. In 1971 St. David’s became part of the University of Wales.