Getting to Aberystwyth

The lively university town of Aberystwyth is situated on the fabulous Ceredigion coast and offers a vibrant and creative ambience which attracts travellers from many miles around. The town can be reached by bus and train. The most convenient airport for accessing Aberystwyth is Birmingham International Airport, which is located 124 miles from the Welsh town.

By car

Car rental services are available at Birmingham International Airport as well as in the town itself. There are two principal routes to Aberystwyth: the A44 motorway runs from the east and the A487 runs north-south through the town.

The most convenient way to reach Aberystwyth from any particular locality is arguable. It is advisable to buy a good road map in order to plan the most convenient route for you. Minimum driving times are: 3 hours from Birmingham; 2 hours 30 minutes from Cardiff; and 1 hour 30 minutes from Swansea.

By rail

Direct train services operate from Birmingham New Street to Aberystwyth. The journey by train takes 2 hours from Shrewsbury and 3 hours from Birmingham. A branch railway from Machynlleth provides links to West Gwynedds coastal towns.

By bus

TrawsCambria connects Aberystwyth by rail to Carmarthen every hour from Monday to Saturday, with two voyages extending to Cardiff and Swansea. The northern equivalent is the X32, providing connections to exciting localities such as Bangor, Machynlleth and Dolgellau, with twice hourly departures (tel: +44 870 608 2608).
The daily National Express 420 service follows a route to and from London Victoria and Birmingham.

By air

Birmingham International Airport is the most convenient airport for getting to Aberystwyth. From here, bus and train connections to Aberystwyth are available. Birminghams airport is a busy and modern facility providing an extensive range of passenger, visitor and staff amenities. Some of the facilities include: shops, bars, restaurants, a prayer room, hotels, business lounges, baby-changing rooms, a currency exchange service and left luggage and lost property services.

Birmingham International Airport is ideally positioned at the heart of Britains network of motorways and just one mile from Junction 6 of the M42. The facility contains two terminals. British Airways and the airlines franchise partners operate flights from the Eurohub, while all other airlines operate from the principal terminal.

The terminal buildings are connected by a modern, new building, the Millennium Link. Today more than eight million passengers and over 50 carriers operate flights out of the airport, flying to over 110 airports via both chartered and scheduled services.

Skyrail links the airport directly to the international railway station and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). Birmingham International Airport is Great Britains second biggest facility outside of London. It ranks as the third largest for chartered flights and the countrys fifth largest overall. In 2004, the airport handled 8,870,204 passengers.

Taxis

Taxis are usually available at the airport, but they are not the best option for travel to Aberystwyth, with fares being expensive. Some of the local taxi firms in the Aberystwyth area include: Bobs Taxis (tel: +44 1970 615537); Cambrian Cabs Ltd. (tel: +44 1970 626292) and A1 Taxis (tel: +44 1970 611119). All these companies provide 24-hour services and the most fast and convenient way of reaching local destinations.

Should you have to travel to a long-distance destination, it might be better to make use of the reliable, efficient and economical public transport options.