Can You Spell Aberystwyth?
In May of 2023, to celebrate my fortieth year and also my parents' anniversary, we travelled to England, Wales, and Ireland. This is the sixth segment of our trip.
Bus travel in Wales is a bit different than in Canada. For one thing, the lanes are narrower, shoulders are almost nonexistant, and keeping to the assigned side of the road (left, in the UK case) is more of a handy option than a strictly-observed rule. The bus system itself is also quite different. In Canada, we have city bus services and long-distance bus services. The UK has a whole middle ground of regional buses that are more like a city bus than a coach, but travel between nearby towns. They are quite inexpensive, much more frequent than Canadian intercity service, and staffed by fearless drives who really know how to bury the needle.
As you've likely already guessed, my parents and I travelled from Caernarfon to Aberystwyth on the bus. The rail services in Wales tend to stretch from East to West, with an axis along the country's border with England. The West coast has less trackage, so bus is the best way to travel along the scenic, sunkissed shores of Cardigan Bay.
...But if the bus isn't your thing, maybe you can catch a dragon-themed cement truck?
Perhaps we made a funny tour group, a couple on a fortieth-anniversary jaunt and a grown kid looking to address a midlife crisis reinventing themselves as backpackers.
Aberystwyth is a fine town for our sort. It has a similar feeling to Llandudno, but comes from a more recent era. The beachfront hotels are pastel. There's a playground inserted between the castle ruins and the principal Church, with the guildhall behind. Pubs abound on the narrow streets lining the River Ystwyth.
There are many Welsh towns with the word "Aber" in their name, and every one is located on the coast. The word means "mouth" (in the fluvial sense). Aberteifi (AKA Cardigan) is at the mouth of the river Teifi. Abertawe (AKA Swansea) is at the mouth of the Tawe. Aberystwyth is where the Ystwyth meets the sea. Incidentally, 'Ystwyth' means "Winding".
It was a balmy day when we boarded the bus in Aberystwyth and continued down the coast. We stopped at a small ice cream shop, and about two dozen people got on board. They departed at a nearby seaside stop, all headed for the beach in the tiny town of New Quay. Cardigan Bay has Europe's largest dolphin population; the parents and I could only guess at how dense it must be with people in the height of Summer!
In time we reached our destination, the ferry port of Goodwick. Dad and I went for an evening walk, and I took a photo of the navigation mast on the seawall in Fishguard Harbour.
On the next segment of our trip, we crossed the sea to track down some family connections in Ireland.
