Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Aberystwyth (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Aberystwyth Castle, St Padarn's Church, and Llywernog Mine. Also, be sure to include Pen Dinas in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Aberystwyth (Wales).
Table of Contents
Aberystwyth Castle
Aberystwyth Castle is a Grade I listed Edwardian fortress located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Mid Wales. It was built in response to the First Welsh War in the late 13th century, replacing an earlier fortress located a mile to the south. During a national uprising by Owain Glyndŵr, the Welsh captured the castle in 1404, but it was recaptured by the English four years later. In 1637 it became a Royal mint by Charles I, and produced silver shillings. The castle was slighted by Oliver Cromwell in 1649.[1]
Address: New Promenade, Aberystwyth
St Padarn's Church
Parish church in Llanbadarn Fawr, Ceredigion, Wales. Saint Padarn's Church is a parish church of the Church in Wales, and the largest mediaeval church in mid-Wales. It is at Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, Wales, United Kingdom.
Founded in the early sixth century, St Padarn's Church has gone through many changes, from a Welsh monastic centre (a clas), a Benedictine priory, a clas again, a royal rectory, a church controlled by Chester's Vale Royal Abbey, and since 1538 a parish church under a vicar.[2]
Address: 1 Heol-Y-Llan, SY23 3QZ Aberystwyth
Llywernog Mine
Llywernog Mine is an 18th-century silver-lead mine in Llywernog, Ponterwyd, Ceredigion, Wales, currently run as an industrial heritage museum and tourist attraction. It is one of many silver-lead mines in Wales, and unlike many others it still has a large number of intact buildings and mining equipment, much of which has been restored as part of the museum.
The first vein of galena, an ore consisting of silver and lead, was discovered around 1742, and active mining commenced in the 1770s. Intermittent mining interspersed with phases of idleness and many changes of management continued for over a century until 1891, when low lead prices forced the mine to close. The mine was briefly active again from 1907 to 1911, when zinc was extracted.
In 1974 restoration work began, and the site opened as a museum later that year.[3]
Pen Dinas
Hilltop fort ruins with town and sea views. Pen Dinas is the name of a large hill within the boundary of the village of Penparcau, on the coast of Ceredigion, Wales, upon which an extensive Iron Age, Celtic hillfort of international significance is situated.
The name is more correctly 'Dinas Maelor', this could be translated into English as 'Maelor's Fort' or 'Maelor's City'. Tradition refers to it as being the fort of the giant Maelor Gawr. Pen Dinas strictly speaking only refers to the highest point, 'Pen y Dinas' or 'Head of the Citadel', (upon which the Wellington Monument now stands). The southern summit is also where, in the Bronze Age, a burial mound was erected.
For the official Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales record relating to Pen Dinas Hillfort see[4]
Constitution Hill
Constitution Hill is a hill in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth, situated to the north of the town.
The hill overlooks Cardigan Bay in Ceredigion, Wales, running between the town and the coastal settlements Borth and Clarach to the north. The site provides good views of the Aberystwyth, and the sightline extends as far as Snowdonia National Park and north Pembrokeshire.
Since 1896, the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway has ascended to the hill's summit, and the summit features a camera obscura, which is a 1980s rebuild of a Victorian era building which was erected as part of the "Luna Park" recreation area.
At its peak runs the Clarach Footpath on the Wales Coast Path, which connects the town of Aberystwyth with Clarach Bay. Nearby is the Borth – Clarach Site of Special Scientific Interest. The hill itself is often referred to as "Consti" by locals.[5]
Address: Cliff Terrace, SY23 2DN Aberystwyth
Ceredigion Museum
Ceredigion Museum is a museum in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales.[6]
Address: Terrace Rd, SY23 2AQ Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Art center in Wales. Aberystwyth Arts Centre is an arts centre in Wales, located on Aberystwyth University's Penglais campus. One of the largest in Wales, it comprises a theatre, concert hall, studio and cinema, as well as four gallery spaces and cafés, bars, and shops.[7]
Address: Aberystwyth University, SY23 3DE Aberystwyth
National Library of Wales
Library in Aberystwyth, Wales. The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the largest collections of archives, portraits, maps and photographic images in Wales. The Library is also home to the national collection of Welsh manuscripts, the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales, and the most comprehensive collection of paintings and topographical prints in Wales. As the primary research library and archive in Wales and one of the largest research libraries in the United Kingdom, the National Library is a member of Research Libraries UK and the Consortium of European Research Libraries.
At the very core of the National Library of Wales is the mission to collect and preserve materials related to Wales and Welsh life and those which can be utilised by the people of Wales for study and research. Welsh is the Library's main medium of communication but it does, however, aim to deliver all public services in Welsh and English. In January 2015 the Library, in partnership with Wikimedia UK, appointed a full-time Wikipedian in Residence with the aim of developing further its resources on an open licence, to a worldwide audience.[8]
Address: Penglais Road, SY23 3BU Aberystwyth
Royal Pier
Pizza takeaway in Aberystwyth, United Kingdom. The Royal Pier, Aberystwyth is a pleasure pier located in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. The first pier to open in Wales in 1865, after a series of storm attacks, it is now a much shortened version of its originally constructed length of 242 metres.[9]
Address: Marine Terrace, SY23 2AZ Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University Ceramics Collection
Art gallery. The Aberystwyth University Ceramic Collection & Archive is located in Aberystwyth, Wales. It holds one of the major collections of studio ceramics in Britain and is particularly noted for its studio pottery of the period 1920–1940. The permanent and temporary exhibitions from the collection are on display in the Ceramic Gallery in Aberystwyth Arts Centre and the archive office is located in the School of Art, Aberystwyth University. The Ceramic Bulletin is produced every two years by the university and it features news of activities including exhibitions, new acquisitions, research, awards and grants.[10]
Nanteos Mansion
Housing. Nanteos is an 18th-century former country house in Llanbadarn-y-Creuddyn, near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. A Grade I listed building, it is now a country house hotel.
The current building was constructed between 1738 and 1757 for the Powell family, with the Shrewsbury architect Edward Haycock Sr. designing the stable block in the 1830s, and William Ritson Coultart designing the east wing and rear offices in 1841. The family occupied the house for some 200 years up until the last of the Powells, Margaret Powell, who died in 1951. At its peak the Nanteos estate comprised some 31,000 acres in 1800, covering most of what is today Aberystwyth, and was the major employer of the county. The name derives from the Welsh for "brook" (nant) and "nightingale" (eos).
The house was once the home of the Nanteos Cup, a medieval mazer drinking bowl that has been attributed with a supernatural ability to heal those who drink from it; it was traditionally believed to be fashioned from a piece of the True Cross. A 1905 pamphlet declared it to be the Holy Grail.[11]