Cardigan is full of surprises. Once one of the most important ports in Wales, with a thriving shipbuilding industry and seven times as many ships registered there as Cardiff, today the town on the River Teifi is busy with paddleboards, kayaks and sailing boats, and a community buzzing with creativity. A cowshed on the outskirts has become a place of pilgrimage for tech bros, business disruptors and people with big ideas who descend on the tiny town for the annual DO Lectures. This programme of talks, watched more than 150 million times on YouTube, is the brainchild of David Hieatt, founder of Hiut Denim Co, the cult fashion brand whose jeans are worn by the Duchess of Sussex.
Since a £12 million makeover turned Cardigan Castle into a tourist draw in 2015, this has been a place on the up. The high street lowers the drawbridge to invite perusal of local arts and crafts from textiles to stained glass.
Wellbeing is covered by health and leisure centres that promote an active lifestyle. A £5 million recent makeover has brought the local comprehensive — Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi — up to the mark. The nearby Rhosygilwen Mansion is a stunning setting for concerts, comedy and more, and there’s always something to see at Mwldan, the town’s lively, not-for-profit arts centre in a former abattoir that has a three-screen cinema and a theatre. It’s a much-loved community hub — never more so than during Cardigan Theatre’s annual panto. Crowds also turn out for the Christmas lantern parade and Barley Saturday, during the last weekend of April, when cobs and ponies and vintage tractors parade through the streets.
Industrious as Cardigan is, there’s wild fun to be had too. There are two fine beaches within easy striking distance, Poppit Sands and Mwnt, and miles of dreamy walks on the Caredigion Coast Path or in the Preseli Hills, a spectacular vantage point with views to Ireland and Snowdonia.
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What are the best shops and restaurants in Cardigan?
The high street is a great place for browsing and picking up the groceries and it’s about to get even better: the Guildhall Market, where you can buy everything from video games to knitting wool, is having a £2.8 million revamp. A starring role is taken by the bakery and cafe Crwst, whose doughnuts are legendary, but there’s also seriously good bread and pastries to be had at the Bara Menyn sourdough bakehouse. Tesco is close at hand for the weekly shop, but don’t miss the Tuesday farmers’ market in the shadow of the ruined abbey, just across the river in St Dogmaels.
Where can I travel to?
The bus formerly known as the Poppit Rocket has become a Fflecsi service running Monday to Saturday all year round and will get you to the beach in 20 minutes. Otherwise you will need a car. Narberth is a 38-minute drive, Carmarthen 50 minutes, Aberystwyth, Tenby and St Davids are about an hour. You’ll need to allow 90 minutes to reach Swansea and more than two hours to Cardiff. The nearest railway stations are Carmarthen and Aberystwyth.
How fast is the broadband?
The main service is standard superfast broadband with only one in five homes able to get full fibre from Openreach.
What are the best schools in Cardigan?
Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi, the local bilingual secondary school, has been given the thumbs-up by Estyn (2022) since adding 11 classrooms and renovating other buildings. Cardigan is also in the catchment area for Ysgol y Preseli, a 3-18 Welsh-medium school that regularly tops regional exam league tables.
Where is the best area to live?
If you want to be by the sea head to Gwbert Road or Gwbert on Sea, a hamlet three miles from the centre, with a golf course and views over Cardigan Bay. A substantial detached house might cost around £500,000, although the best homes often sell before they hit Rightmove or Zoopla.
What are the house prices in Cardigan?
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Average property price: £278,000
Source: Halifax using Land Registry data