Going to a place we've never been before, with no plan, and no schedule, is great fun. Our only reason for stopping is to just, catch our breath. But staying at an Air BnB with our hosts and their three active children (ages 10-12) would keep us on our toes.

We are in Aberystwyth (Ab-er-it's-with). A small college town of about 13,000, once known as a transportation hub and sea side retreat. It's located in North West Wales along the Irish Sea. Since we had no plans or expectation of what to do here, and with Wednesday being our 37th wedding anniversary, we were off on a new adventure.

Wednesday morning, we walked part of the 65 mile Welsh Coastal Path, climbing the 430 feet hill at the north end of town, known as Constitution Hill. The views are amazing. A sign posted to the top tells us, "on a clear day" we should be able to see Mount Snowdon.

At 3560 feet it's at the heart of the Snowdonia Nation Park, were we go Friday. But with the sea fog hanging around, good luck doing that today. We settle for a clear view of the entire length of the Promenade below.

One of our host's three young children told us, " it's great fun and if you get tired you can take the train back down". Built in 1896, this once steam powered rail, to the top of this very scenic lookout, was the longest of its type, in Britain, until 2001.

From our vantage point we could see the amusement pier, built in the 1830's. Beyond it, to the left is "Old College". A former seaside hotel built in the 1770's, the owner started this venture offering discounted rooms if you bought advanced tickets, in London. It worked for a little while but then folded, fell into disrepair, later sold to a coalition wanting to promote local higher education. In the 1830's it became the first Welsh college with 30 or so students that later grew into a large university.

At almost the end of the promenade is the Castle. Built in the early 1300's it is now preserved but crumbling. Like in every city we've visited there is a memorial to those who died in both world wars.

Beyond the castle, buildings are painted in a "Rainbow Row" similar to Charleston, SC. There is a marina with docks for fishing boats & private yachts. With the huge tidal range some boats with twin keels sit flat in the mud at low tide and others with single keels, like Calypso, lean against the Quay Wall or stealing piling.

There is also a small, very small, seafood restaurant called Pysciti, where we stopped for lunch. There were three full tables, and four stools at the bar, of which two were open. We grabbed them and, although we have enjoyed fish & chips, we had the absolute best seafood meal since our arrival. The perfect middle to a perfect day!

Thursday we left, Aberystwyth headed for Devils Bridge. We travelled by way of the narrow gauged steam powered rail known as the Vale of Rheidol. This 95 year old engine and tracks were used to carry iron, lead, and silver from mountain mines to Aberystwyth. From there it was taken to smelting factories throughout Wales. Before this narrow , 1 foot 10 inch wide, rail came along transportation of people, supplies, & ore had to be done by horse, cart, or foot.

The mythological story behind a Devils Bridge come from a story in which an old woman, living nearby, tricked the devil and scared him out of Wales, forever. Relieved to hear that, we walked the curved high speed road, without a pedestrian path, to see the Three Bridges of Devils Bridge.

Similar to the Roman Forts we saw near Haltwhistle, each bridge was built on the foundation of the previous bridge. The first, a foot bridge built by The Cistercian Monks of Strata Florida, 1000 years ago. It was replaced by a horse & buggy sized bridge in the 1700's. The third, built around 1901, is still used today to carry cars over the falls that cascade to the valley floor over 300 feet below.


We are staying at the Black Lion Hotel until Sunday morning. It's stone walled rooms date back hundreds of years and although it was modernized in the 1970's, wifi signals don't penetrate the thick walls. This will limit our blog posts and the number of photos in each post for the next few days. So, with the only wifi available in the hotel's pub it's off we go. You gotta do...what you gotta do...;)

Fairings and Quiet Anchorages,
Wendy & Jeff