Clarach Bay to Aberystwyth Walk: Family-Friendly Route on the Ceredigion Coast Path

Miles of Memories: Before I got the bright idea to start blogging, we’d already dragged ourselves (and the children, when they arrived) on some pretty memorable walks around the UK. This series is my way of revisiting those adventures –  a chance to share the places we loved, the lessons we learned, and maybe inspire your own family adventures, big or small. Let’s retrace those steps, one memory at a time!

---

October 2022. This walk began from Clarach Bay, a small beach with a caravan park facility. This particular half term we had hired a caravan there. Now, to go away at all for us is a real treat. We don’t go on holidays – the nearest we get to ‘holidays’ are visiting the boy’s grandparents in Scotland, and going on excursions with them. However, this half term, after much insistence from a colleague who owned a caravan on the site, we found ourselves caving in to their generous discount, and stayed for a week on the caravan site. Caravan sites are not for me. Even after this stay, it’s not something I’d want to do again in a hurry, but we were lucky that the caravan was right at the far end, so it was mostly quiet, and the boys loved the change of scenery, which is the most important thing!

The weather during this week was abysmal sadly, but we still managed to get some good activities in. The aforementioned Scottish grandparents had planned to join us, spreading the cost and making the most of the 6-berth offerings, which added to the fun of it all. Granddad isn’t a big walker, however this came in useful for this particular walk…

I can’t remember how we found out about the coastal path, but on the Wednesday of that week, as the weather started to improve, we decided to take a trek across it into Aberystwyth, with plans to meet Granddad (who’d drive) for a coffee, and then give us lifts back. What i do remember though, was some confusion as to where the path started, but we did eventually find it and started the climb – and boy was it a climb!

There were some narrow sections, which were a little nerve racking with the children, then 8 and 6, not helped by the occasional strong gusts of wind, which became more persistent as we reached the top of the cliff. The views, however, were breathtaking – we could see quite some distance around the bay!

At the top, or halfway across, was a bizarre complex of tourist facilities! We had certainly not expected to come across a mini golf course, a camera obscura setup, 10-pin bowling and a café! We had a quick windswept family selfie, then continued on our way – we had an agreed time to meet Granddad at a coffee shop, and caffeine and cakes were calling!

The decline from here into Aberystwyth was fantastic, if not a little hairy at sections! At the top of the descent is one half of the famous Aberystwyth cliff railway, and the path weaves across the railway, using a series of bridges, and each time we had to wait for an ascending or descending carriage for the boys to wave at! I was sure I’d taken photos of this but sadly my archives show very few photos from this trip. 😦

At the bottom we swiftly joined the promenade to find the coffee shop where Grandad had found us a table. By this time, it was raining again, and we were all glad to get into the dry and have a well deserved hot drink (and cake!).

After refueling, I was keen to walk back too, but the enthusiasm wasn’t met by the others. Poor grandma, not used to walking (as Granddad drives everywhere) felt tired, and my husband and eldest felt the same. My youngest was keen to walk back though, and at his age, knowing how tough the walk was, I was super proud of his decision! We said our goodbyes and made our way back to the cliff railway, but not before a short visit to the beach first!

We had a lovely walk back up to the top again. It was tough, and even I was shattered – I’ve no idea how my just-turned-6 year old was finding the energy! At the top, impressed with his efforts, I treated him to a cheeky ice cream!

Once we were done, we had the slightly easier task of walking back to Clarach Bay, which was mostly either flat, or downhill. It was windy, occasionally showery, and quite cool too, but it was a lot of fun, and a special memory for the both of us! Just over 6 miles walked, I was very proud of this energetic 6 year old – he slept very well that night!

---

Writing this post lead me to do a little research on this walk. I’d have loved to have walked more of this path whilst we were there, but weather and, at the time, a lack of suitable all-weather walking gear, meant we couldn’t. However, it looks like there is a LOT more to this walk, and I’d absolutely love one day to walk the Ceredigion coastal path in its entirety! Please let me know if you’ve walked it and your thoughts!