Aberaeron is a small harbour town on the Ceredigion coast, in West Wales, most famous for its colourful Georgian architecture.
Aberaeron sits at the mouth of the Aeron (“aber” means estuary or river mouth in Welsh), and until the 1920s, it was a busy fishing port. Aberaeron became a hub for sea-trading, attracting new businesses and people, and providing a boost to farming and woollen industries, as well as creating an excellent – and profitable – base for shipbuilders. In recognition of the wealth Aberaeron developed as a sea trading port, in the 1830s the architect Edward Haycock created one of Wales’ only planned towns around Alban Square. This saw the building of many of the Regency-style houses for which Aberaeron is now famous.
Today Aberaeron is a compact little town, with a leisure harbour, filled with sailing boats. It has a multitude of ice creams shops, bars, cafes and restaurants, and makes a lovely seaside stop on your Wales itinerary.
GETTING THERE AND AROUND
Exploring this area of West Wales is easiest with your own vehicle, as the public transport system is slightly sparse. However, once you get to Aberaeron, a car is less of a necessity as the town itself is very walkable. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk from one side of Aberaeron to the other.
If you do plan to explore without your own vehicle, the T5 bus route runs hourly between most towns and villages along the Ceredigion Coast Path route – the full timetable is available on TrawsCymru.
Over the last 50 years the train stations that once serviced many of the smaller communities have closed down, including Aberaeron. The nearest train station is in Aberystwyth, 16 miles away – the T5 bus route links the two towns in 30 minutes. By train, Aberystwyth is about five hours from London (from Euston to Birmingham, then a Transport for Wales service down the coast to Aberystwyth).
The closest airport is in Cardiff, a two-hour drive from Aberaeron.
WHAT TO DO
Admire the colourful architecture – Aberaeron is known for its colourful painted houses, and a stroll around town is a colourful affair. Within the town centre, one in every four houses is listed for architectural or historical interest. The bright colours are a much more recent feature than I had realised. It is commonly said houses were panted different colours so that fishermen returning from sea could distinguish their homes from their neighbours. But apparently they were actually not painted until the 1960s when one lady changed the colour of her house from the white pebble dash, to something more exciting, and others slowly followed suit.
Beaches – unlike nearby New Quay with its popular sandy beaches, the seafront at Aberaeron is make up of shingle and pebbles worn smooth by the tide. Nonetheless they are still worth a blustery stroll, or a place to sit and enjoy your ice cream on a sunny summer day. To note – between May 1 and September 30, dogs are prohibited from the area of Aberaeron South beach between the Harbour walls and the groyne to the south of Beach Parade. To the south of this groyne, towards the cliffs on South Beach, and all of North Beach is accessible to dogs throughout the year.
Dolphin Spotting – Cardigan Bay is home to one of only two resident groups of Bottlenose Dolphins in the UK. It is also the largest population of dolphins in Europe. Bottlenose dolphins are here all year round, although May to November are the best months for spotting them. Fascinatingly, the dolphins have been found to have a Welsh “accent”… marine biologists studying these loveable animals have found the dolphins living here have a different style of clicks and whistles to other dolphins elsewhere. Harbour porpoise also frequently visit the area. There are a number of companies offering dolphin spotting boat trips, and I would highly recommend the Dolphin Survey Boat Trips. Each trip lasts an hour and a half, with a maximum of 12 guests on board. They also conduct Dolphin Surveys on each trip, with an onboard researcher, supporting the research of the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre. Adult tickets are £25; child £14.
Even if you can’t get out on the water any time soon, you can watch out for the dolphins on the webcam set up by the Cardigan Bay Wildlife Centre.
WHERE TO WALK
Walk to Llancheron – a 5 mile/8km circular on solid paths and the old railway line will take you from Aberaeron to the National Trust owned Llancheron. Adult tickets to visit the Georgian manner house cost £9.90.
Hike the Wales Coast Path – if you are really up for a challenge, you could take on the 870 miles/1400 km Wales Coast Path (Llwybr Arfordir Cymru). This trail makes Wales the only country in the world to have a footpath around the entire length of its coastline. Most hikers take around 6-7 weeks to complete the entire length. The WCP official website provides all the detail needed to plan your trip – including an interactive map of the route.
Have a look at my guides to Hadrian’s Wall and the Cotswolds if you are interested in exploring more of the UK’s long distance walks.
Aberaeron to New Quay – if 870 miles is a bit too much to fit into your visit to Wales, the section of the Wales Coast Path between Aberaeron and New Quay makes for a lovely day out. This 6.5 miles/10.5 km section is one of the most popular along the Wales Coast Path. The route is straightforward and easy to navigate, although the last stretch along Traethgwyn Beach (New Quay Bay) is impassable during high tide. The the T5, X50, 554 buses run between Aberaeron and New Quay, to return to your start point once you finish your hike.
WHERE TO EAT
For a small town, there are some real foodie delights to be found in Aberaeron. These are my favourite places to eat but there are plenty of options to choose from.
The Hive – the juiciest burgers and freshest seafood. A really excellent choice for lunch, around a central wood burner in a light filled space with views over the inner harbour. The ice cream is also superb.
Watson and Pratts – a lovely shop and deli on Bridge Street. I could have spent *a lot* of money here! They are also the winner of the best almond croissant I have ever had!
The Stubborn Duckling – lovely little place, with really fantastic, affordable menus in the Georgian Alban Square.
Y Seler/The Cellar – really, really fantastic food. They also have a bar, but there are more atmospheric options if you are just after drinks.
Harbourmaster – this pub come restaurant come hotel, is a great place for sundowner overlooking the harbour… or for much of the year, a warming drink tucked inside behind the cosy fairy lights on a stormy day! The menu – and specials – are also reliably delicious.
WHERE TO SLEEP
Brynamlwg – amazing location looking out onto the harbour and to sea in one of Aberaeron’s famous painted houses. Three bedrooms – including bunk beds with a view the grown ups will be jealous of! Have a look at my full review to see more of the lovely views and cosy spots to snuggle up with a book. In the interests of full disclosure, I know the owners of this house, but this is not an ad/paid for recommendation. It is simply a seriously lovely place to stay!
Harbourmaster – 13 lovely boutique rooms in all the varieties of blue, reclaimed wood and coastal paintings. The location is lovely – on the other side of the harbour to Brynamlwg (they look out at each other!).
The Townhouse – owned by The Hive (above), the gorgeous views and copper roll top bath set the tone for a gorgeous stay.
I hope this guide might tempt you to make the journey to this pretty corner of West Wales – be sure to have a look at my other guides to Wales and the wider United Kingdom when planning your trip.
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