Welcome to Aberaeron  on Cardigan Bay in West Wales

Aberaeron is a charming regency town and with its multi coloured houses, attractive harbour, Hotels, B&B and self-catering Holiday Cottages it has much to offer the visitor. Centrally located on Cardigan Bay, Aberaeron is close to Aberystwyth and Cardigan towns, while Lampeter and Tregaron are a short drive inland through the beautiful Aeron Valley, much loved by the poet Dylan Thomas who lived locally for a while.

The Urdd National Eisteddfod will be held at nearby Llanerchaeron from May 31st to June 5th, 2010. There will be up to 200 stalls promoting Welsh products and produce, art, design and technology exhibitions, 6 full days of competitions in the pavilion in song, recitation, drama, dance, composing, poetry, art, design and technology. There will also be evening concerts and shows, live street theatre dance and music.

At the mouth of the Aeron River, Aberaeron has been built on a level area between the mountains and the sea  formed during the last ice-age 10,000 years ago. It was the site in the 12th century of a medieval fort described by Samuel Lewis in 1833 as "On the sea-shore, near the village, is a circular encampment, designated Castell Cadwgan, and supposed to have been constructed by Cadwgan ab Bleddyn, about 1148."

Named after the fort, the 'Cadwgan' -  a Ketch of 120 tons built by D. Jones was the last boat built in Aberaeron Harbour in 1883. It gave its name to the Cadwgan pub in Market Street.

Aberaeron is rare example of a town in Wales that was planned from the outset. The town as we know it today began in 1807 when the Rev Alban Thomas-Jones Gwynne obtained a private Act of Parliament to rebuild the harbour. Subsequently the town was planned in the regency style around a large open square - named Alban Square (full details on our 'History of Aberaeron' page).

In the nineteenth century Aberaeron was a thriving port. Samuel Lewis writes in 1833: 'The port is...... is in a thriving state. There are from thirty to forty sloops belonging to it, of from seventeen to one hundred tons' burthen, which are navigated by about 120 seamen: they are chiefly employed in the importation of coal and culm, and two of them trade regularly with Bristol. The principal articles of importation, in addition, are grocery and timber; and of exportation, butter and oats: there is also a lucrative herring fishery, in which about thirty boats, with seven men to each, are engaged.'

A railway station linking to Lampeter  was opened in 1911 - more about this on our railway page. This signalled an end to sea transportation. Similarly, the improved roads and availability of motor vehicles brought an end to the railway at Aberaeron which finally closed in 1965.

On the southern side of Aberaeron, is the little village of Henfynyw. It is here that Saint David, the patron saint of Wales is said to have been born in Capel Non about the year 500. There is a tradition that the Cathedral of St. David's was originally meant to have been built at Henfynyw. St Davids in Pembrokeshire, was however the site of one of St David's monasteries, and that is where he is buried.

Each year, Aberaeron holds the The Aberaeron Festival of Welsh Cobs and Ponies - being held in 2010 on Monday 30th August 2010. Nearby Llanarth produced many famous Welsh cobs, including Llanarth Meteor, Llanarth Rhys and Llanarth Comet. Now the stud has closed, descendants of these ponies are found worldwide. In 2005, a life-size bronze statue of a Welsh Cob was donated to the town by the Aberaeron Festival of Welsh Cobs and Ponies to denote the area as 'Welsh Cob Country'.

The Aberaeron Town Trail was established in 2007 during the bicentennial celebrations - 200 years since the Act of Parliament to create the new harbour. Twenty two notable locations within the town were chosen, and each was given a commemorative bronze plaque in the shape of the 'Aberaeron shovel' a shovel produced in the forge of the Davies family from the 1850s until the 1930s. Click here to visit our 'Town Trail' page.

There is a wide variety of holiday accommodation in and around Aberaeron, hotels, guest houses, B&B, self catering holiday cottages, and caravans. If you click on the links at the top of the page, you will see more details about them.

Our other local websites:
www.newquay-westwales.co.uk - everything you need to know about New Quay in West Wales.
www.westwales-cottages.com - a wide selection of self catering accommodation in the Cardigan Bay area.
www.westwales-caravans.co.uk - holiday caravans and chalets in holiday parks, on farms and smallholdings.
www.visitnewquaywales.com - special places to stay in and around New Quay in West Wales.