D184: ABERAERON to ABERYSTWYTH
Sunday 21st September 2025
Today miles: 20.8 Total miles: 3012.6
I left my wonderful hosts around 8.30am now wearing comfortable dry clothes. After a coffee and two bacon/egg butties provided by Rachel’s mum, Rachel returned me to Gilfach Holiday Park where I had ended my walking the previous day. I thanked Rachel, several times and she went back to work whilst I continued along the coastal path. The weather had now completely transformed and the majority of the sky was cloudless and blue with no significant wind. I still needed to take great care not to slip as the ground was still very sodden. After around a mile and a half I entered the town of Aberaeron. It’s a pretty town with several food outlets, unfortunately it’s Sunday morning and everything is still closed. There’s a short promenade walk out of town, before the path takes to the beach for a few hundred metres. I decided to take an early break and spread out the contents of my backpack on the beach. Everything inside is still wet from the previous days torrential rain.
There’s a flat walk along the grass embankment adjacent to the beach before the route then climbs gently uphill along the side of the A487 road. The road eventually heads further inland whilst the coastal path continues along the grassy route. Before Llannon the coastal path has been temporarily closed and walkers are diverted inland towards the village centre. It’s a short diversion and causes me no issues. Exiting the village there’s a solid flat path towards Morfa Farm. Just prior to Morfa I once again head slightly inland in order to cross a narrow river/stream. I grabbed a refreshing can of fizzy pop from a petrol station which I drank sat outside of the church near Llanrhystud. It was so nice to just feel the sun shining onto my face. The next five miles was a straightforward romp across several grass covered low level hills, never exceeding 90 mts above sea level. I took my time enjoying the conditions and had several short breaks along the way.
Just beyond Morfa Bychan the route ascended onto a ridge and on reaching the top I could see Aberystwyth in the distance. I love a ridge walk and really enjoyed having the route and the almost silent atmosphere to myself. I noticed that the side of my left walking shoe has a significant split and I may need to give this some attention over the next few days. On the approach to Aberystwyth I was unable to see how pedestrians cross the River (Afon) Ystwyth. I quickly checked the map which confirmed that there’s a footbridge close to the football ground, there’s also a road bridge with pedestrian access closer to the mouth of the river. I couldn’t see either of these bridges until I got much closer to the town. At the end of the ridge the path descended gently towards the river. I arrived at the Southern fringe of Aberystwyth and initially walked along the sandy beach before jumping up onto the promenade. The small pedestrian bridge was fenced off so I continued towards the road bridge to cross the river. The beach front at Aberystwyth was busy.
My accommodation for the next two nights is slightly out of town so I decided to grab some hot food and beers before heading to the guest house. After a long hot shower I enjoyed my chicken kebab and chips which was washed down with four cans of cider.
Werewolfandflump UK Coast Path 