Scenic Place in Ceredigion

New Quay is a small and charming harbour town on the Ceredigion coast of Wales, a curved bay of colourful terraced houses climbing above a working fishing harbour whose combination of architectural appeal, clear water, dolphin watching and literary association makes it one of the most attractive and most rewarding small coastal towns in Wales. The town claims a connection with Dylan Thomas, who lived in New Quay for a period in 1944 and 1945 and is widely believed to have based the fictional Llareggub of Under Milk Wood on the town and its characters, although Laugharne in Carmarthenshire makes a competing claim. The harbour is the heart of New Quay, its stone quay protecting a small fleet of fishing vessels and pleasure craft and the seafront restaurants and cafés providing the best local crab and lobster directly from the boats that catch them. The water in the bay is exceptionally clear and the sandy beach below the harbour provides sheltered swimming in conditions that attract families in considerable numbers during the summer months. New Quay's most celebrated wildlife asset is the bottlenose dolphin population of Cardigan Bay. A resident population of approximately 250 dolphins, the only genetically distinct coastal bottlenose population in Britain, uses the waters offshore throughout the year, and New Quay has become the principal base for dolphin watching tours in Wales. The Sea Watch Foundation has maintained a marine wildlife centre in the town for many years, and the combination of the bay's geography, the shallow inshore waters and the reliable dolphin presence makes New Quay the best location in Wales for observing these animals. The Welsh Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran, the red kite feeding station at Aberaeron and the coastal walking of the Ceredigion Heritage Coast all extend the range of natural and cultural experiences accessible from New Quay.

Few places in Wales combine dramatic scenery, history, and folklore quite like Devil’s Bridge. Nestled within the Cambrian Mountains near Aberystwyth, this striking landmark is famous for its unusual crossing of the River Mynach — where not one, but three bridges rise directly above one another. Below the bridges, the River Mynach plunges nearly 300 feet into a steep, wooded gorge, creating the powerful Mynach Falls. The sound of rushing water and the sheer depth of the ravine make this a memorable place to visit, especially when viewed from the winding paths that lead down into the gorge. The Devil’s Bridge Falls Nature Trail offers a well-marked circular walk, complete with stone steps, viewing platforms, and changing perspectives of the waterfalls throughout the seasons. The bridges themselves tell a story stretching back hundreds of years. The lowest structure is believed to have been built in the 12th century, most likely by monks from nearby Strata Florida Abbey. As travel increased, a second bridge was added in 1753, followed by the top bridge in 1901 — the one still used by vehicles today. Together, they form one of the most unusual bridge arrangements in the UK. Of course, no visit would be complete without hearing the legend that gave the site its name. According to local folklore, the first bridge was built by the devil after an old woman struggled to retrieve her cow from the far side of the gorge. In exchange for his help, he demanded the soul of whoever crossed the bridge first. The woman, however, cleverly sent her dog across ahead of her, leaving the devil cheated of his prize. Today, Devil’s Bridge is a popular stop for walkers, photographers, and anyone exploring mid-Wales. With its mix of natural beauty, clever engineering, and centuries-old storytelling, it remains one of the region’s most distinctive and atmospheric places to explore.

Ynyslas Sand Dunes form the northern section of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve on the west coast of Wales, a dynamic coastal landscape of international ecological importance where sand dunes, beach, estuary and wet heath create a mosaic of habitats supporting an exceptional diversity of plant and animal species. The reserve lies at the mouth of the Dyfi Estuary near Aberystwyth in Ceredigion and is managed by Natural Resources Wales as one of Wales's most significant coastal nature reserves. The dune system at Ynyslas is a particularly well-developed example of the natural succession from mobile sand through to mature dune grassland and heath, a sequence of plant communities that can be traced by walking inland from the beach. The youngest and most mobile dunes at the shore are held together by marram grass, whose deep roots and flexible stems allow it to bind and stabilise shifting sand. Moving inland, the dunes become progressively more stable and support increasingly diverse plant communities, from dune meadows rich in wildflowers to the older dune slacks, the damp depressions between dune ridges, which are among the most botanically rich habitats in Wales. The dune slacks in particular are nationally important for their rare plant communities. The creeping willow dune slack communities found here support fen orchids, early marsh orchids and a range of sedges, rushes and moisture-loving plants that have been lost from most lowland Wales habitats through drainage and agricultural improvement. The presence of these rare communities has contributed to Ynyslas's designation as a Special Area of Conservation under European conservation legislation. The beach at the seaward edge of the dunes is long, clean and generally uncrowded compared to the more developed beaches to the south, and the views across the Dyfi Estuary to the mountains of southern Snowdonia behind are exceptional on clear days. A boardwalk trail allows visitors to explore the most ecologically sensitive sections of the dunes without causing damage to the vegetation, and the visitor centre near the car park provides information about the reserve's habitats and wildlife. Ynyslas is also an excellent location for observing the estuary birds that use the Dyfi as a high-tide roost and feeding ground, including large flocks of waders and wildfowl during the winter months.

Aberaeron is one of the most complete and architecturally coherent planned towns in Wales, a small harbour settlement on the Ceredigion coast that was laid out in the early nineteenth century around a newly constructed harbour and developed with unusual discipline and consistency to create a townscape of considerable charm. The town was essentially the creation of the Reverend Alban Thomas Jones Gwynne, who inherited the estate in 1807 and used it to finance the construction of both the harbour and the grid of streets and squares that define Aberaeron's character today. The result is a Georgian planned town that survives in remarkably intact condition. The harbour is the heart of Aberaeron and gives the town its most distinctive visual quality. The inner harbour is enclosed by stone quays and surrounded on three sides by the colourfully painted Georgian and Victorian buildings that have become the defining image of the town. Small fishing vessels and leisure craft sit in the basin, and the combination of pastel-painted facades, the working harbour and the hills of Ceredigion rising behind creates a scene that is simultaneously quintessentially Welsh and reminiscent of the fishing towns of Cornwall or Brittany. The honey pot character of the setting has made Aberaeron one of the most visited small towns on Cardigan Bay. The streets behind the harbour reveal the planned town at its best, with consistent Georgian terraces and the town's squares maintaining the architectural discipline of the original development. The town has a good selection of independent shops, galleries, cafés and restaurants reflecting both its local economy and the significant tourism that the coastal setting and architectural quality attract. The Harbourmaster Hotel on the harbour front is among the most celebrated small hotels in Wales. The coastline either side of Aberaeron is typical of the Ceredigion coast, with low cliffs, rocky coves and the wide arc of Cardigan Bay stretching north toward the Llŷn Peninsula. The Wales Coast Path passes through the town and provides good coastal walking in both directions, while the landscape inland toward the Cambrian Mountains offers a very different experience of this beautiful and relatively uncrowded Welsh county.

Llyn Brianne is a large reservoir of over 470 hectares in the upper Tywi valley in Carmarthenshire, created by damming the River Tywi in the early 1970s to supply water to Swansea and the surrounding region. The reservoir sits within one of the most extensive areas of wild upland terrain accessible by road in south Wales, surrounded by moorland, blanket bog and scattered conifer forest. The area is closely associated with the red kite, Wales's most celebrated wildlife success story, with the Tywi valley remaining the bird's last British stronghold through the twentieth century. Red kite feeding stations in the valley provide spectacular wildlife spectacles, and the reservoir road offers one of the most scenic and remote drives in mid-Wales.