Category: Blog

How to enjoy a seaside trip to the quirky mid Wales resort of Aberystwyth

A trip to Aberystwyth for Telegraph Travel as part of their summer seaside series.

I spent a couple of days in the Mid Wales resort to find out more about regeneration and the uniquely quirky charm of Aber.

Here’s a sample from the feature:

It was a hub of lead-mining and shipbuilding. The town boomed with genteel Victorians, taking the seaside air, turning it into the Biarritz of Wales. And, more recently, it provided the backdrop to a genre-defying Welsh noir.

The idiosyncratic seaside resort of Aberystwyth, Aber to the locals, pivots around its Norman castle with twin beaches — yet maintains an isolated air given its westerly position on Cardigan Bay.

Proudly Welsh speaking, it’s now home to the National Library of Wales, the nation’s largest Arts Centre and bolstered by a lively student population during university term times.

But there’s also an air of faded grandeur with some of the pastel-coloured Victorian and Edwardian resort hotels in desperate need of some love.

The arrival of the railway in the 1860s transformed the town’s fortunes, establishing a thriving coastal resort, the opening of the Royal Pier, the first in Wales, soon following.

There are green shoots of regeneration, too. The first phase of the wave-crashed promenade’s £10.8m facelift is almost complete.

The renaissance of the Old College, the grand old Victorian building that served first as the first home of the University of Wales, aims for 2027 completion with a new cultural centre and four-star hotel.

Read the full feature via Telegraph Travel, How Aberystwyth plans to revive the glory days of the British seaside.

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How to visit Barry Island, Wales, home to the famous Gavin and Stacey TV trail

Were you one of the 12 million last night?

That’s the number of people who watched the final ever episode of Gavin and Stacey, the TV comedy series set in South Wales.

I made my own pilgrimage to Barry Island back in November to visit the sites now associated with the popular TV sitcom.

Here’s a flavour of my feature:

Eh, what’s occurrin’?

Barry is a classic working-class resort, where miners from the South Wales Valleys would have spent their annual holiday.

During the Georgian era, it was a favoured destination among peers of the realm and it blossomed in the Edwardian era.

 In later years, it was home to a huge Butlins holiday camp, which has since disappeared.

But these days, the Welsh seaside town has been reborn as a place of pilgrimage for fans of the TV comedy series Gavin and Stacey, who revel in its kiss-me-quick kitsch.

Barry is not all funfairs and hangovers, however. A cluster of independent businesses is now attracting Cardiff hipsters to the seaside. Tidy!

Read the full feature via the iPaper, The seaside town that is Wales’ answer to Margate with TV tours.

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Halloween collab ahoy! Dark Chester tour and Chester on a Plate tour join forces

The Brewery Tap, Chester. Image: David Atkinson.

We did a special tourist-guide collab for Halloween this year.

My Dark Chester tour joined forced with Chester on a Plate tour to offer a unique Halloween experience — spooky stories and fiendish food.

We visited three of Chester’s great, independent places to eat and drink, namely Greenhouse in Rufus Court, The Brewery Tap pub and Providence Gin.

In between, I kept the group entrained with some of my favourite spooky stories from Chester’s dark-tourism heritage.

It was a fun evening and great to collaborate with another Chester-based freelance tourist guide.

You can see images from the evening at my Instagram @darkchestertour.

More from Dark Chester Tour on Viatour.

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Ghost stories and Victorian Gothic: my public speaking engagements this winter

The function room at the Cat & Fiddle Distillery. Image: David Atkinson.

As the darker winter months roll in, I’m pivoting work wise.

After working flat out with Halloween walking tours of Chester for both children (daytime) and adults (evenings), public speaking engagements will keep me busy over winter.

I did the first one this week. It was an evening of spooky stories at the Cat & Fiddle Distillery, located near Macclesfield, Cheshire.

The second-highest-altitude pub in Britain is a historic property from the early 1800s on the road from Macclesfield to Buxton. It’s now home to the Forest Gin Distillery.

The organisers welcomed 20-odd guests with smoky rum cocktails from the distillery’s new collection and then we convened in the function room for some local ghost stories from the Macclesfield area.

After a break for a buffet supper and refreshed drinks, we headed back for the second half, exploring the history of ghost hunting and theories of paranormal investigation.

The evening ended with questions and audience members sharing their own stories and experiences.

I’m now booking ahead for public and after-dinner speaking for the winter season with upcoming events across the Chester and Cheshire in the months to come.

If you’re looking for a guest speaker, then please do get in touch.

You can see images from the evening at my Instagram @darkchestertour.

More from Dark Chester Tour on Viatour.

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