The Glengower Hotel

Aber!!

by Angbur

"In The Summer"

Aberystwyth (or just plain Aber to anybody who has ever been there - too many syllables other wise) has a fond place in my heart. It was where I went to university and I spent 3 great years there.
But what has Aber got to offer to travellers like you?
As a town it is pretty remote (especially for a British town), Shrewsbury, the closest major town is about a two hour drive away. It is not somewhere either that that you drive through to get anywhere else either, it is not really a place you just stumble across.
It is definitely an Old fashioned type of town, and quite possibly one of the few remaining traditional British Seaside towns. Walking along the seafront you wouldn't be surprised to see an old man in a string vest, with his trousers rolled up and a hankerchief knotted on his head. You can take walks along the seafront, take the slow cable car up to the top of Constitution Hill (or walk if you are feeling a bit energetic) have a look round the old ruined Castle and then have fish and chips for tea followed up by an ice cream. It's that type of place.

"The rest of the year"

The Aberystwyth I have described above, the traditional British Summer Holiday destination, sums up Aber during the summer, when the sun is shining and the University is on Holiday.
For the rest of the year (and those people who have ever lived in Aber will agree with me), it is almost certainly raining. Those months usually coincide with term time at the university and the town is a very different place.
The town itself has a population of around 15,000, of which 7,000 are students. The town is the university and the university is the town. The average drops by a good thirty years and the atmosphere alters accordingly. It's a lively, relaxed atmosphere with everone out to have a good time (you hardly ever get any trouble). But with more pubs per head of population than almost anywhere else in Britain - you'll always find a place to suit you, be it loud, quiet, traditional or just quaint.
But that just really sums up the town as a whole.

"The people"

A beach and a few bars and to be frank there's not much else to Aber. But it's the people who make the place and Aber is a prime example of this. The people are great, and students being students almost anything goes, everyone is so relaxed it makes for a fantastic atmosphere. All you have to worry about is enjoying yourself.

There are to Aber's the summertime place that is full of OAPs enjoying a gently holiday. And then there's the much more lively place the rest of the year, for the young.
I love Aberystwyth and I'm sure most people will too, just make sure that you go at the right time of year to suit you.