Walk 44: Llanrhystud to Aberystwyth

The final walk of our February 2024 trip to Ceredigion took us from Llanrhystud to Aberystwyth – or, rather, from Aberystwyth to Llanrhystud.

As we were staying in New Quay, which is closer to Llanrystud than Aberystwyth, it was more convenient to park in Llanrhystud and grab the bus to Aberystwyth, before walking back to the car. But this wasn’t our only reason for walking in the opposite direction to usual – I had seen that, just outside Aberystwyth, there is a very steep hill that’s tricky to descend. Given we were walking in winter, so the path was likely to have the addition of slippery mud, I decided that I’d prefer a nasty ascent to potentially getting stuck on a hill, unable to get down! I also thought it would be nice to get the trickiest portion of the walk out of the way early so we could enjoy the rest of the day.

Consequently, we alighted the bus in Aberystwyth, and, rather than heading into town, took an immediate turn away from the centre and made for the marina. After passing the marina, we reached Tan-y-Bwylch Beach, with the path taking us on a nice, flat walk above the sand, as we got closer to the intimidating Allt Wen.

As expected, Allt Wen was a killer – a very steep climb that didn’t let up until we reached the 130-metre peak. We did pass a couple of people who were jogging down the hill – no doubt the best way to reach the bottom, but I wouldn’t be anywhere near brave enough! By around the halfway point, my calves were absolutely screaming at me (not helped by Liam saying ‘I can’t hear them’ in response to me remarking this!), and I had to sit down for take a rest. Thankfully, we were rewarded with a lovely view of Aberystwyth behind us.

We finally made it to the top of the hill, and I was pleased to have the hardest part of the walk done and dusted less than an hour after we began! We enjoyed a pretty easy-going stretch after reaching the top.

After a slight descent off Allt Wen, we reached a caravan park which we were required to bypass. This section involved another ascent – the second hardest of the day, although nowhere near as tricky as our first! We trudged up a field to a farm track, where we enjoyed some nice, easy walking for around a mile, before returning to field walking.

After a muddy week of walks, this one wasn’t too bad – we had a couple of stumbles along the way, and a bit of sludge to navigate, but most of the paths in this section were relatively dry. We enjoyed some great views of Aberystwyth as we looked behind us, and enjoyed pretty flat paths for a while.

As we reached Penderi Cliffs, we saw the first of a few final gentle ups and downs which would take us to Llanrhystud, although we still couldn’t see our final destination at this point. Finally, around eight miles in, we reached the brow of a hill and got our first glimpse of Llanrhystud. A final ascent took us to the top of a small hill, from which we could see across Cardigan Bay to New Quay on our left, and to Aberystwyth on our right.

The path then gently descended towards the caravan park at Llanrhystud, with a final short walk along the road taking us to the starting point of our previous walk, and our car. With the last of this trip’s walks done and dusted, we had completed 50 of the 60 miles of the Ceredigion Coast Path, going from Cardigan to Aberystwyth, with just the walk from Aberystwyth to Borth left to finish this section of the Wales Coast Path.

🥾 Distance: 10 miles.

⭐ Highlight: Some lovely views throughout, including fantastic views of Aberystwyth from Allt Wen.

👎 Less Good: The ascent up Allt Wen was tough!

🚗 Transport: We got the bus to Aberystwyth and walked back to our car in Llanrhystud.

🛏️ Accommodation: We stayed in a pretty seafront apartment in New Quay.

🌱 Food: We had dinner back at our apartment.

🗺️ Map: This route is featured in the official Snowdonia and Ceredigion Coast guide.

Still not convinced? Read my ten reasons to walk the Wales Coast Path. If you’re ready to start planning your walk, you can find lots of resources to help you on your way here. Please note, I collect a share of the sales from the links on this page.