The Royal Pier, Aberystwyth

54 Mins from our holiday cottages
33 Miles from our holiday cottages
Dog Friendly

Marine Terrace, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
SY23 2AZ (Sat Nav)

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“ Enjoy as part of a walk along the prom. ”

Stallion Valley Holiday Cottages Advice

The Royal Pier, Aberystwyth is a pleasure pier the first to open in Wales in 1865. After a series of storms, it is now a much shortened version of its originally constructed length of 242 metres. Total construction costs were £13,600.

In the health conscious Victorian era, Aberystwyth developed quickly as a holiday resort. At the centre of the West Wales coastline, with Cardigan Bay beyond, it was billed as the "Biarritz of Wales."

Opened on Good Friday in 1865, the 242 metres pier attracted 7,000 toll paying visitors on its first day of opening, the same day that the Cambrian Railways line from Machynlleth officially opened.

This was the high point of the pier under its original owners, when seven months later in January 1866, a severe storm washed away a 30 metres section at the seaward end.

Around the start of the 20th century, a new glass pavilion designed by Gordon Croydon-Marks was added. Erected by Bourne Engineering & Electrical Company, it consisted of three aisles surmounted by glass domed roofs, with the iron work decorated in a Gothic-style. Opened by the Princess of Wales on 26 July 1896, the pavilion could accommodate 3,000 people.

In 1979, Aberystwyth Royal Pier was purchased by the Don Leisure Group, and in 1986 they spent £250,000 on improvements to the remainder of the 91 metres pier. 
 

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