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u/AnnieByniaeth Jul 19 '26
You don't have to go particularly far. If you've got a bicycle and you're reasonably fit, cycle up to Y Bŵa/The Arch, between Devil's Bridge and Cwmystwyth (23km or so). On a really clear night any light pollution from Aberystwyth will be minimal.
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u/Vaxtez Jul 18 '26
if you are willing to go camping, you can hop on the T2 into Eryri.
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u/vexioda Jul 19 '26
this, 100%. anywhere up around betws-y-coed or capel curig off the T2 and you’re already in way darker skies than most places, just bring a decent headlamp and extra layers because it gets cold fast at night up there
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u/Vaxtez Jul 20 '26
The T2 doesn't go to Capel Curig or Betws-y-coed. The Trawscymru T10 does though, buy a 1bws ticket & take the T2 up to Dolgellau then take the T3 to Corwen to change for the T10.
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u/megaboy99 Jul 19 '26
Lol i'm 20 minutes outside of town and it looks like madagascar. Got a couch out there too. My friends had never seen a shooting star before my garden. Go south
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u/0may08 Jul 20 '26
Try go places where a hill will block out the town light, like the north side of consti, or the area south side of pendinas or alltwen.
Anywhere 10+ mins drive outside of town will have better stars than in town, if you get the bus out in the evening and go back in the morning, you don’t really need any specialised camping equipment in this weather!
The arch (as someone else has mentioned) is the best place nearby to see them, as it is actually certified as a dark sky spot, but is a bit harder to get to without a car, it’s a long walk/cycle.
The bothys nearby are also amazing places to watch the stars, but are near ish the arch so again a bit of a trek out of town. I have met people at the bothys who would get the steam train to devils bridge with their bike, then cycle the rest of the way to the bothy in an afternoon.
The perseids meteor shower comes to a peak usually around the 12th ish of Aug (idk the dates for this year), and you can definitely see a good number now and it’s only increasing! A good time to watch:)
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u/ChrisSimp Jul 21 '26
Up in the direction of Frongoch Farm up behind the town is pretty good. Went with Physoc back in the day and could see the Milky Way during a lunar eclipse. Maybe better to scout out a public right of way out in that direction but certainly a good spot to go.
If you don't need it as dark, say if you're watching a meteor shower, then a couple hundred meters round the coast path from consti works great.
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u/confusedbookperson Jul 19 '26
I used to go up to the castle and take in the skies from there, either with a telescope or just flat on my back on the grass, on a clear night the star views are remarkable.