Worth getting out of bed for
Highlights the best Cardigan Bay has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
- Viewpoint
- Haul yourself up to the highest local eyrie, Cader Idris, for views over all of Snowdonia in one direction and the whole of Cardigan Bay in the other. On maps, the 3,000-foot peak is often spelt ‘Cadair Idris’. The hike is an all-day affair along a well-marked path, so check the weather forecast. Snowdonia Adventures can provide you with a guide, should you feel the need (£45 each for four people; www.snowdonia-adventures.co.uk).
- Arts and culture
- Aberystwyth Arts Centre (www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk) has a fully fledged range of exhibitions, concerts, cinema and theatre, counting guitar supremo John Williams among its top-flight guests. For those with an eye for the unusual, the Mid Wales Museum of Modern Art in Machynlleth (www.momawales.org.uk) shows the latest in Welsh art and sculpture alongside its permanent Tabernacle Collection. The National Library of Wales (www.llgc.org.uk) does more than the name suggests, with an events programme that has included a set by Gruff Rhys, lead singer of Super Furry Animals.
- Something for nothing
- Visitors to Aberdovey shouldn’t just stick to the local estuary: there’s four ravishing miles of pristine coastline here – which many visitors bypass. Further to the south of the bay, Tresaith beach is a sandy slice of Welsh bucket-and-spade heaven, complete with a waterfall cascading down from the clifftop.
- Shopping
- Aberdovey’s retailers are largely kept afloat by the waves of surf-wear and souvenir hunters. Visit Aberystwyth and browse-but-don’t-break your way around the ceramics and homewares at Toko on Eastgate Street (+44 (0)1970 626633). Source local produce from Aberystwyth Farmers’ Market (+44 (0)1970 633066) every other Saturday, where you can chat to farmers about food miles – before driving off with their goodies.
- Daytripper
- Head for the quirky Italianate village of Portmeirion (www.portmeirion-village.com), taking the wide-gauge Cambrian Coast Railway to Minffordd, about one mile from Portmeirion (www.nationalrail.co.uk): sneak a peek at foreboding, battle-scarred Harlech Castle on the way (www.castlewales.com).
- Perfect Picnic
- Make a beeline for Aberdovey’s Happy Valley, to the beautiful Bearded Lake, where would-be Lancelots and Guineveres can bewitch each other with some lacustrine romance at the scene of one of Wales’ many Arthurian myths. Pick up Celtic-flavoured deli supplies from Y Bwtri Blasus on Sea View Terrace in Aberdovey (+44 (0)1654 767470).
- Walks
- Ramble through the first part of the Dyfi Valley Way – starting from the Snowdonia National Park Information Centre car park in Aberdovey – for the gentle eight-mile stroll along green tracks and pastures. Catch the bus back from outside the church in Pennal; go to www.ramblers.org.uk for route maps.
- Road trip
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From Aberdovey to Aberdovey via Harlech, Capel Curig and Dolgellau.
This lush, green route takes you from the old-school seafront at Aberdovey, up coast-hugging roads with views of Tremadog Bay, and into spectacular mountain country as it weaves north into Snowdonia National Park. read more…
- Children
- For a classic seaside day, the safest and cleanest beaches run from the western tip of Aberdovey up to Tywyn, giving you four miles of golden shoreline. If it rains, the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), near Machynlleth, is devoted to green living and has many interactive exhibits (including a worm slide) that explain wind power, wave power, solar energy and so on. After all that edutainment, your little eco-warriors can go wild in the adventure playground while you kick back in the Taste of Wales wholefood restaurant (www.cat.org.uk).
- Activities
- With head-swivelling expanses of breeze-caressed sand and sea, this is the perfect place to try your hand at kite surfing or kite buggying (+44 (0)1654 791342; www.kitesurfwales.co.uk/index.php). If you’d rather try something less potentially humiliating, the Ceredigion Coast Path stretches from Cardigan to Ynyslas (Borth), offering walks galore. Visit www.walkcardiganbay.com for maps and details of guided events.
- And...
- Teifi Marshes nature reserve is the place to catch sight of all sorts of furry and feathered creatures, many with fantastic Harry Potter-esque names (wigeon, pochard, snipe, pipistrelle bat). There’s a great route from Cardigan along the river Teifi, winding through the reserve toward Llechryd; see www.visitcardigan.com for details.
Diary
March Wales One World Film Festival Aberystwyth showcases world cinema (www.wowfilmfestival.org). July Cardigan Bay Seafood Festival celebrates local crustaceans with samples, song and dance (www.aberaeron.info). August Cardigan River and Food Festival pays homage to the river Teifi (www.visitcardigan.com). The Machynlleth Festival brings a week of upscale musical performance; ENO soprano Sarah-Jane Davies has provided past festival highlights (www.momawales.org.uk). October Don’t just talk the talk – stretch your legs at the Cardigan Festival of Walking (www.visitcardigan.com). December At Aberystwyth Christmas Food Fayre, fill your festive larder with the bounty of Cardigan (+44 (0)1970 633066).
