Sitting on the ancient West Wales coastline, the town of Aberaeron comes with both incredible sealife and seafood.
The historic fishing town boasts an award-winning restaurant and an idyllic aesthetic. For many, their first impression of the “hidden gem” will be the charming, colourful houses.
But it is particularly impressive thanks to its food. There are a range of cafes – with notable places to grab a coffee being the cosy spots of The Hive and Bwyty McCowans – as well as welcoming pubs including The Black Lion and the Castle Hotel.
If you’re looking for a quick hit, the town does have a beloved chippy and a Chinese takeaway. However, lovers of fine-dining must check out the Harbourmaster.
With wonderful views of the coastline, the boutique hotel, bar and restaurant in the former harbourmaster’s building won the César Award from the Good Hotel Guide, and was named the best hotel in Wales.
Built in 1811 as the home and office of Aberaeron’s harbourmaster, it has operated as a boutique hotel since 2002 with 13 rooms spread over three historic buildings. And it’s reviews show its quality hasn’t altered over the years.
One TripAdvisor reviewer said: “We each ate a three course meal – wonderful seafood, imaginatively presented. The crab linguine was fantastic.
“The desserts were delicious works of art. We both ate the confit orange and chocolate arrangement with pomegranate – it was almost too beautiful to eat (almost!)”
“Brilliant on every level,” said another, while a third said: “Great food, curry with all the trimmings, lovely friendly atmosphere and great service.”
The town provides a wonderful historic setting. The houses are mainly Georgian and Victorian, born from the town’s unique history, planned by the Reverend Alban Thomas Jones around 1805 and designed by architect Edward Haycock.
The Memorial Hall offers local clubs, craft fayers and the occasional film, as well as providing a home for Memorama, the local drama society and the snooker club, plus a local indoor swimming pool.
It is also a great spot to head from to check out Cardigan Bay, famous for its bottlenose dolphins. Over 300 of them spend part of the year in the area, usually throughout the summer, peaking in numbers during September and October.
There are several companies operating boat trips, mainly from nearby pretty village of New Quay, to watch these wonderful creatures cavorting in their natural habitat.
The Dolphin Tours RIB Safari is particularly well-reviewed.
One visitor said: “Me and my son went out with these guys and it was such a delight to see the dolphins in their own environment, leaping around and eating fish. One knocked a fish towards us on the boat and it really felt like we made a connection!! The skipper was very knowledgeable and made my son laugh while he let him drive boat.”
“Amazing”, said another, adding: “We saw a dolphin at the end of the trip and it stayed with us for about ten minutes giving us a really close show.”
While a third review said they saw a seal and “although the dolphins didn’t come that close we could hear them with the underwater microphone”.
Aberaeron is also close to Llanerchaeron, an elegant Georgian villa, designed by architect John Nash in 1790, who is als responsible for much of the design of Buckingham Palace. It comes complete with a walled garden, farmyard lake and wild parkland.
