Bacon, Boats, and Best-Kept Secrets: Why I Keep Coming Back to Aberaeron.

 With its rows of beautifully coloured Georgian homes, the bones of this pretty seaside town has remained unchanged for years. Some of the shops along the main road have come and gone, but Aberaeron is still the same as it was years ago. 

Coming here as a little girl I would play in the park in the middle of the town or watch the Aberaeron 7’s play rugby there. Then we would head to The New Celtic for fish and chips served on plastic table cloths and if we were lucky, have tinned peaches and tip top for dessert. That to me was decadent. If it was a sunny evening we might forego the peaches for  honey ice cream. I wasn't that keen and still not a fan, but it was mum and dads favourite.

Today, your evening may be exactly the same. You might get take out from the New Celtic though and wander along the newly renovated harbour wall watching excited tourists crab fishing. Bacon is a great bait by the way. Make sure you stroll all the way out to the extended head of the harbour all just finished in 2025. 

The beaches are not sandy here, but you can safely swim.  If you don't fancy a dip, there are lots of quaint little shops selling local artisan goods. Don't forget to stop into Y Popty for a cake or pastry.  If you walk along the main road and then head over the bridge heading south, take a left and turn down the lane alongside the river. This is a lovely little walk along the Aeron river. In the summer local produce is for sale at the allotments on an honour system. 

Every Saturday there is a Parkrun at Llanerchaeron. This is National Trust property and well worth a look. The run is well attended and flat along a gravel path. 

In the summer the town gets very busy. During Covid the local council put a rather annoying one way system in place. I find it best to park along the main road just as you come down the hill into town, instead of trying to navigate the narrow roads of the one way system. 

The bus system runs right along this coast road also, and is pretty cheap and reliable.