BORTH
A coastal village 7 miles north of Aberystwyth with a population of 1,500; Borth has a sandy beach and an ancient submerged forest is visible at low tide along the beach, where stumps of oak, pine, birch, willow and hazel (preserved in the peat) can be seen.
Cors Fochno, part of the only UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Wales, is located next to the village together with the Dyfi National Nature Reserve and visitor centre at Ynyslas; set amongst the sand dunes, the centre has interactive displays and a marine aquarium.
TAL-Y-BONT
The village is located about halfway between Aberystwyth and Machynlleth. To the north is the RSPB reserve, Visitor Centre and shop at Ynys-hir; the reserve mixes Welsh oak woodland with wet grassland and saltmarshes and has seven hides. Summer brings wading birds, such as lapwings and redshanks and then in the colder months, ducks and geese move in.
PONTERWYD
The village lies in the Cambrian Mountains 12 miles east of Aberystwyth. To the west is the Llywernog Silver Mountain Experience which offers a fascinating insight into life nearly 200 years ago, when the mine employed over 60 people. The original discovery of minerals was made around 1742 and by 1790, two levels were being blasted into the hillside.
Nearby is the Bwlch Nant yr Arian Forest Visitor Centre which has two scenic waymarked walks with breathtaking views, an ‘All Ability Barcud Trail’, three single track mountain bike routes offering epic rides for the more adventurous, and a waymarked horse route. Red Kite feeding can be enjoyed here every day (weather permitting) offering spectacular views of the birds in a wild and wonderful setting.
DEVIL'S BRIDGE
To the south-east of Aberystwyth, the main feature of the small village is the bridge over the Mynach River at a point where it falls around 300 ft. It is unusual in that there are three separate bridges, each one built upon the previous bridge. The most recently built one in 1901 is an iron bridge which was built over a stone bridge dating from 1753 which used the original bridge (built 1075 - 1200) to support scaffolding during construction. On one side of the bridge is access to a view of the bridges and on the other side there is a longer, 45 minute walk to see the Mynach Falls.
The village is the terminus of the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway from Aberystwyth, operated by the three steam locomotives weighing over 25 tons each built for the line by the Great Western Railway between 1923 and 1938. The railway opened in 1902, to serve the lead mines, timber and passenger traffic of the Rheidol Valley.
PONTRHYDFENDIGAID
On the River Teifi, the village is known for the nearby ruins of the Cistercian Strata Florida Abbey, founded in 1164, where the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym and some eleven Welsh princes from the C12th and C13th are said to be buried. The entrance archway, the Great West Door to the Abbey Church, remains together with low walls marking the extent of the church and six subsidiary chapels. A remarkable area of mediaeval tiling can be seen and there is a small museum on the site.
LLANRHYSTUD
This small coastal village is nine miles south of Aberystwyth. The Fantasy Farm Park is located to the south of the village with a Farmers Barn and Animals, a pirate themed Soft Play Area, Nature walk and Picnic Area, Bumper Boats and Pedal Boats and Tractor & Trailer Rides. Also featured are Go Carts, Crazy Golf, Roller Races, a Model Farm with Pedal Tractors & Trailers, a wooden Adventure Play Area and an Excavator Sand Pit!
