I was in Aberystwyth for a photoshoot, so came a day early, intent on a ride in the hills. However, my plans to ride a circuit involving Nant-y-Moch Reservoirs was foiled by a road closure – the viaduct was completely out of action – and my backup plan of investigating a cycle cafe was also stymied: it hadn’t reopened after lockdown. That’s the last time I trust Google’s opening hours…
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Anyway, I did get a bike ride of sorts in, along some of the Ystwyth Trail, NCN81. It runs east-west along the Ystwyth valley between Aberystwyth and Tregaron and, ultimately, the rest of the world, which can feel a long way away when you’re in mid-Wales, in a good sense.
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The start, just outside Aberystwyth, is splendid, giving wide views of the steep hills, valley floor and sea, and the first couple of miles are smoothly asphalted.
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After some malarkey with gates and bridleways it settles in to being an unsurfaced track alongside the Ystwyth for several miles, but I soon got fed up of sliming along the view-free mud, enclosed by trees. I came back into Aberystwyth on the road, which at least gave me some scenery to look at.
Back in Aberystwyth, a surprise at Wetherspoons in the old station, where I dropped in for a pint and a burger. You’re not allowed to eat outside at the front, but have to go round the back and sit in a netted-off area at the back. It’s like being in an aviary. Why? Some obscure historical Welsh by-law?
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Ah, no: it’s the seagulls. Out the front they’ll molest you and have your chips. Round the back they can’t get in to your netted enclosure. It’s an aviary of sorts, but a reverse aviary: to keep birds out, not in.
Cheers!