We recently took a family trip to Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, West Wales. We lived in Aberystwyth from 2001-2006, yet one thing we’d never done, was ride the Cliff Railway. It was top of our list to visit on this trip ‘back home. The railway was built in 1896 by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company and engineer George Croydon Marks to make the town into a desirable spa resort. It is actually part of Constitution Hill: a site of an early Victorian theme park with arcades, a camera obscura and park at the top of the hill (and a restaurant at the foot of the hill). The railway was also the scene of an infamous cover-up in 1911 when a visiting elephant rampaged, derailed the train and killed two people.
The Ride
The railway is open April to October, 10am to 5pm, 7 days a week. A family ticket costs just £14-18 return. It is well worth this, especially for the view from the top of Constitution Hill. Important to also point out – it is DOG FRIENDLY – yay! You can get a one-way ticket and walk back down to the town if you wish – there is a meandering path to the lower building. The train ride takes about 10-12 minutes, still using the original carriages. When the car at the bottom leaves, so does one at the top, with a passing space at the midway point.
At the top there is the modern-day version of the Constitution Hill theme park. You will find a replica of the camera obscura (great for educating the kids about light and optics), a 10-pin bowling alley, a lovely café with good coffee and light meals, a games room, frisbee golf, and a bouncy castle. If you are feeling a bit more energetic you can walk along the coastal path to the seaside village of Clarach.
Our Visit
The ride up was fabulous as the weather was slightly windy and there was an anticipation of a ‘wind through the hair’ experience at the top! Weather-wise, it wasn’t the brightest of days. The children went into the camera obscura to see the images and learn how it works. We we stayed outside with the dogs. This was, naturally, followed by a fabulous coffee at the café along with some fresh coffee and walnut cake 🙂 We sat in the garden at the back of the café so that we could enjoy the view.
Millie and Toby played frisbee golf. Of course the dogs had to be held tightly as they wanted to chase the frisbees every time they were thrown!
We spent a couple of hours up on the Hill. We even walked a little way along the coastal path (before the constant whining from the children made us turn back). The visit was great. In the best British fashion, we shared a bag of chips on the seafront once we’d made it back to sea level! The seagulls were right cheeky buggers though – they do love stealing chips!
The Technical Bit
The Standard Gauge railway has two carriages. They each take 30 passengers and are named the Lord Geraint and the Lord Marks. A funicular uses a permanent cable for movement on a steep slope. The pair of carriages are pulled up the slope by a cable. This loops over a pulley wheel at the upper end of the track. While one vehicle is ascending the other one is descending the track and they counterbalance one another. The railway climbs 430 feet (130 m) in 778 feet (237 m) with a gradient steeper than 1:2 (50%).
The 4’8 1⁄2″ gauge Aberystwyth Cliff Railway used to be run with a water balance system. However, it was electrified in 1921. During its time this funicular railway was the longest in the UK, until the Cairngorms mountain railway opened in 2001.
For more information, please visit their website here.
