...at Ty Belgrave House, Aberystwyth

May 17 2008 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail

LISTENING to the waves gently sweeping the pebbles on the beach just across my seafront hotel window I wondered why it had taken me so long to spend a short break in Aberystwyth.

The fact that I was making my first overnight stop – and third-only visit – to such an important town in the near 30 years I have lived in Wales is as inexplicable as it is a pity. But I was determined to make up for lost time and see the place at its best, staying in a gorgeous boutique hotel on the front and do it in term time.

The weather in early spring was lovely, the flowers were opening everywhere and I could sleep with my hotel window open and hear those lapping waves. While I dipped into a couple of the town’s numerous student-orientated drinking establishments being well past even mature student age range, my bed beckoned well before last orders (if such a thing still exists).

But the comfy armchair and crystal clear LSD TV screen followed by crisp cotton sheets and the knowledge of a fabulous Welsh breakfast in the morning (without a hangover) proved more of an appeal than late-night boozing.

I had intended to take a morning stroll along the promenade and up past the college to the harbour and back to deserve morning coffee but still full on the breakfast feast I continued my exploration into town. Being a main seaside resort, a long-established university town and an important administrative centre, this jewel in Cardigan Bay’s crown is a lively place.

Having made summer-time day visits I had already sampled the touristy and curious mixture of delights from the electric cliff railway and the Victorian camera obscura views towards Snowdonia, the National Library of Wales and strolls round the shops. This time I wanted to try a few restaurants and pubs and make my way to Aberystwyth Arts Centre where I had seen a summer show the previous year.

The second day I made it to the university on the hillside and into the arts centre, the social and cultural heart of the 8,000-strong student population.

That night the sea sounds were interspersed by the last few stragglers of students enjoying their revelries as I sunk again into a restful sleep, with a smile on my face listening to the evening sounds that give the town a special characteristic, students and the sea.

Ty Belgrave House Guest House, Y Prom/Marine Terrace, Aberystwyth. Ceredigion. Call 01970 630553 or see www.tybelgravehouse.co.uk.Mike Smith was visiting