Discover Aberystwyth
A Cardigan Bay university town: a Victorian prom from castle to Constitution Hill, a cliff railway, and steam up the Rheidol valley
What's On
Upcoming events and things happening in Aberystwyth
Starling Roost at the Royal Pier
RecurringStarlings roost under the pier at dusk from autumn to early spring. Free, from the prom.
Aberystwyth Comedy Festival 2026
RecurringComedy across the town on the first weekend of October, with the hub at the Arts Centre, on Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026.
Aberystwyth Farmers' Market
RecurringFirst and third Saturday, 9am to 1pm, top of town by the Market Hall.
Vale of Rheidol Ticket to Christmas
RecurringA steam Santa Special and an Engine Shed Christmas, 16 to 23 December 2026.
Aberystwyth Right Now
Aberystwyth's weather comes in off Cardigan Bay and reaches the prom before it reaches the town, so check the sky over the sea before you commit to the hill. The cliff railway runs in most weather, but a low cloud base takes the view away from the camera obscura, and the Rheidol valley inland can be wetter than the coast.
🚆 National Rail from Aberystwyth
Live departures
National Rail service from Aberystwyth. Updates every few minutes.
A university on the seafront, and a library on the hill
Aberystwyth is a small town with two institutions that people cross Wales for. The university started in the Old College on the seafront in 1872, in a Grade I listed building that still sets the skyline at the south end of the prom. The National Library of Wales, the legal deposit library for the country, sits up on Penglais Hill with its free exhibitions and a view over Cardigan Bay.
Between them the seafront does the work of a town square. Students walk it to the bar at the north end, families queue for the cliff railway at the foot of Constitution Hill, and the Royal Pier, which opened in 1865, has a fish bar on it. The Vale of Rheidol steam railway starts in the town, and the old harbour is where the Rheidol and the Ystwyth reach the sea.
Where To Eat
From fine dining to casual favourites
Baravin
Seafood, pizza and cocktails on the prom, open from ten in the morning.
Ultracomida
Spanish deli and restaurant on Pier Street, started in a cellar here in 2001.
Y Consti Cafe and Restaurant
The Cliff Railway's summit cafe, open daily 10 to 5, with the view included.