Focus on… Aberystwyth
The tourist town, seat of learning and “capital of mid-Wales” has been drawing the crowds for 150 years, says Gary Parkinson
The unofficial capital of mid-Wales, Aberystwyth (meaning “mouth of the river Ystwyth”, although that river now diverts south of the town) sits halfway up the west coast on Cardigan Bay. A major education centre since the 1870s, it now welcomes 2,000 university students a year – swelling the town’s population by around a sixth.
This constant rejuvenation injects new life into a grand old town which, after the railway brought Victorian tourism in 1869, became dubbed “the Biarritz of Wales”. With typical contemporary chutzpah, fine buildings were thrown up along the seafront – and, in the case of the pier, into the waters where the attentive may spot dolphins at play.
One of those grand buildings, intended to be the Castle Hotel until the speculators went bust, instead became the university; a century later it welcomed Prince Charles, who – as fans of The Crown will know – arrived to study the Welsh language and culture before his investiture as Prince of Wales.
His scholarly successors may be less heralded but they contribute to the atmosphere and economy of a friendly town surrounded by some astonishingly lovely countryside – Snowdonia is a short but thoroughly pleasant drive away. Combining the necessary amenities with the possibility of idyllic retreat, Aberystwyth ticks a lot of boxes.
Starting out The imposing Victorians on seafront Marine Terrace, just a few minutes from the bustling town centre, are being converted to flats: £119,500 buys a ground-floor one-bed overlooking the bay.
Great for families.... On central Bath Street, a five-bed end-terrace for £160,000 gives plenty of scope. A couple of miles east on the A44, a four-bed detached includes a self-contained annex flat plus garage and workshop for £270,000.
Just won the lottery? Just outside town is an eight-bed, Grade II-listed Victorian country house with eight beds (five en-suite), six receptions, a self-contained two-bed flat, formal gardens and stables and views over the Rheidol valley for £850,000.
HEAD FOR RURAL BLISS IN…
Borth Seven miles north of Aber is a three-mile sandy Blue Flag beach, understandably popular with surfer-dudes and young families alike. Caravan sites dot the green hills but you could buy a five-bed house, already converted into four flats, for £215,000.
Devil’s Bridge Known to the Welsh as Pontarfynach (“Bridge on the river Mynarch”), this pretty village of 500 souls 12 miles up the Rheidol valley is beloved for its hugely unusual titular triple-decker bridge. A mile away is a 170-year-old traditional two-bed cottage, restored in 1995, for £195,000.
Aberaeron If Aberystwyth’s 15,000 population seems ten times too much, try this picturesque Regency-style community, planned in the early 1800s by the local vicar. A one-bed former toll-gate house, Grade II-listed and believed to date from 1785, is just £120,000.
THE COST OF LIVING
Average rent: The average rent per property of £959 is swollen by multiple occupancy; self-contained one-bed starter flats go from £400, one-bed cottages from £500. Most family-sized homes are student-targeted at around £900 for a three-bed and £1200 for a four-bed.
Average house price: Aberystwyth’s overall average of £224,000 almost exactly matches the typical three-bed house, but price variation is narrow: starter one-beds average £120,000, while family four-beds and even five-beds average around £280,000.
Average rental yield: That student population makes Aberystwyth a buy-to-let hot-spot, with yields estimated at an average 6.2 per cent.
Average house price rise: Aber had a good year in 2019, with the average property price rising 2.56 per cent from £219,318 to £224,748.
Average salary: The average gross full-time salary in Ceredigion, the 700-square-mile county of which Aberystwyth is the main town, is £30,630; the employment rate of 66.8 percent is below the British average of 75.6 per cent.
Average price of a pint: £3.
Council tax: From £1,109 to £3,882 pa.
ABER AT A GLANCE
Connections: Not a strong point. Eight trains a day take the three-hour trek over the hills to Birmingham; by car it’s two (beautiful) hours south to Swansea, another half-hour to Cardiff, and three hours to Bristol or (in the other direction) Liverpool.
Amenities: 3/5 Aberystwyth Arts Centre has a 900-seat hall and 300-seat theatre; smaller gigs at Scholars and Rummers; farmers’ market twice a month; seafood at Pysgoty, Mediterranean at Casablanca, Italian at Agnelli’s, roasts at Y Ffarmers.
Festivals and events: Regular Science Cafe discussions and many festivals including cycling (May), Fire in the Mountain (original music, May), Big Tribute (covers bands, August), MusicFest (July), The Eye (photography, October), comedy (October) and the pleasingly-named Abertoir (horror cinema, November).
Open space: 4/5 Surrounded by sea and countryside, Aber also has a wide promenade between the castle ruins and Constitution Hill, behind which is the Parc Penglais nature reserve. There’s also the 21-mile Ystwyth Trail to hike or bike along the old railway. You won’t feel penned in.
Landmarks: The Royal Pier, 13th-century castle ruins, cliff railway up to hilltop camera obscura, university, National Library of Wales, Vale of Rheidol steam railway.
Schools: 4/5 The Welsh don’t produce Ofsted-style league tables, but data analysts have placed Ysgol Penglais among the top 10 secondaries in Wales, while excellent primary Ysgol Plascrug has been governmentally hailed as a best-practice role model.
Crime: 5/5 In the year to June 2019, there were 53.95 recorded crimes per thousand people in Ceredigion – way below the 89.3 average for England and Wales.
Famous faces: Downton Abbey actor Tom Cullen and the 2016 Apprentice winner Alana Spencer were born in Aber. Rocketman star Taron Egerton spent his teenage years in the town, as did ‘Aberystwyth noir’ writer Malcolm Pryce; university alumni include the Prince of Wales and The One Show presenter Alex Jones.
Originally published in the Metro newspaper, 21 Jan 2019
