EATING OUT IN CARDIGAN
For a place the size of Cardigan, this little market town boasts a good number of eating establishments to cater for all palettes. From ice cream, to fine cuisine, pizza in a tipi, Italian fare and locally sourced sea food, Cardigan has a diverse menu on offer for lunches to suit everyone, and for your evening meal, the same is true. Tried and tested by ourselves are the following (any excuse to eat out!).
Close to the quayside, hidden away behind an archway absolutely covered in ivy, is the Pizza Tipi. Nowhere in the UK could make you feel more like you are abroad than this place! Outside seating, right on the river’s edge, or under the shelter of the giant tipi, around open fires, breathing in the warm, smoky aromas of pizzas cooking in wood fired ovens, time seems to lose its meaning here. Your doggy friends are very welcome here, and this is a lovely place to kick back and chill out with a cold drink on a sunny evening. Oh, and the pizzas are amazing too!
Cegin 1176
Cegin 1176, at Cardigan Castle, named after the year the first ever Eisteddfod was held on this very site, offers a tasty sit down menu comprising of signature dishes using seasonal vegetables grown in the Castles very own working kitchen garden in a glass walled licensed restaurant overlooking the river and quayside from a majestic elevated position.
Manucci’s
The newly opened Italian bistro has received very positive reviews for its authentic Italian home cooked cuisine, and delicious Tuscan desserts. With a cosy atmosphere and kerbside terrace, Manucci’s is fast becoming one of our most popular dining spots.
ABDUL’S TANDOORI SPICE
Offering authentic Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine, Abdul’s caters for take away food as well as eating in, and although they are not licenced they are happy for you to bring your own drink if you would like a glass or two with your meal.
CARDIGAN ARMS and PENDRE CHIPSHOP
The two chip shops in Cardigan both offer a good chippy tea for take away, or sit down, whatever your preference. A little further away, in St Dogmaels, Mor FFein is also highly rated locally.
THE GROSVENOR ARMS
Also down at the quayside, with views over the river, is The Grosvenor. With a traditional pub menu is on offer here, in a friendly and spacious atmosphere, this is a lovely place to sit out on the terrace during the warmer summer months.
If you like a steak, don’t miss The Copper Pot. On the high street, The Copper Pot has tasteful indoor seating, and a hidden secret garden for outdoor dining, where you can enjoy a cocktail in the sun before devouring a divine meal. Our personal favourite is the highly recommended Delmonico steak from local high class butcher, Tom Samways, cooked in garlic butter, with fries coated in Maldon sea salt and parsley.
YR HEN PRINTWORKS
Yr Hen Printworks, so named as it is situated in the newly renovated newspaper press, offers small plates, great for sharing in a tapas style. Each one a taste sensation, the menu here is unique and creative, the atmosphere is casual and cosy, and the cocktails are superb.
THE GROSVENOR ARMS
Also down at the quayside, with views over the river, is The Grosvenor. With a traditional pub menu is on offer here, in a friendly and spacious atmosphere, this is a lovely place to sit out on the terrace during the warmer summer months.
Cemaes Head walk near Cardigan on the Pembrokeshire coast
View towards Cemaes Head from Ceibwr Bay
The Cemaes Head walk near Poppit Sands is lovely to do in springtime: you'll see fulmars, cormorants and guillemots nesting on the highest cliffs (550ft) in the National Park. More seals breed here than anywhere else in Wales from mid-summer. And year round you’re likely to spot chough, ravens, kestrels and buzzards, you may even see bottlenose dolphins in the bay.
DISTANCE/DURATION: 5.0 miles (8.0 km) 3 hours.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Service bus Poppit Sands 407/409, *Poppit Rocket 405 (*seasonal, hail & ride).
CHARACTER: Rugged coast, fields and livestock.
LOOK OUT FOR: Reintroduction of coastal grazing, highest cliffs in National Park (550ft) spectacular rock folding.
A walk along dramatic cliffs with spectacular views.
Look out for: Reintroduction of coastal grazing, highest cliffs in National Park (550ft), spectacular rock folding.
The highest sea cliffs in the Park are between Cemaes Head and Pen-yr-Afr, where you’ll see dramatic folding and contorting of the rocks (the effects of powerful earth movements orogenies over millions of years), which reveal the structure and strata of the earths crust.
This walk is ideal for seeing sea-birds, particularly gulls such as the greater black-backed gull. Fulmars, cormorants, and guillemots nest on the cliffs through spring and early summer. Keep an eye out for chough (rare crows with vivid red beaks and legs that perform spectacular aerobatics), ravens, kestrels, buzzards, stonechats and the ubiquitous jackdaw.
The recent reintroduction of coastal grazing by ponies has improved the quality of cliff-top heath and grassland habitat for chough at Pwynt-y-Bar. Thrift and spring squill are prevalent on the slopes to the west and heather, bell heather, bracken and gorse cover the heath.
Out in the bay bottlenose dolphins can sometimes be seen and seals breed on the beach from August to October. There are spectacular views over Cardigan Bay you may even see Snowdonia on a clear day.
Geraint Harries, North Sector Senior Ranger for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, says: “Keep your eyes open. If you want to see dolphins or porpoises then Cemaes Head is one of the best spots along this coast.”
The UK’s biggest pod of dolphins lives in Cardigan Bay, where they’re a daily delight for visitors . Meet the bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises along with grey seals and discover the bays abundance of wildlife, flora and fauna.
Dolphin Spotting Cardigan Bay
Dolphins close to New Quay, Ceredigion by Shane Jones
Cardigan Bay Dolphins
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Cwm Tydu to Cwm Soden butterfly walk
This circular route takes you along cliffs from the little bay of Cwm Tydu to Cwm Soden, one of the few sites for the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly in Wales.
Penbryn Beach, Ceredigion
Penbryn Beach is a fantastic walk for star grazing, as its rural location gets next to no light pollution. The beach is a fantastic place on a warm summer's evening for a leisurely stroll and I'd recommend bringing a star chart and a picnic blanket so you can lie back on the beach, listen to the waves and watch the stars. Bring a torch for the walk down to the beach through the woodland, which is a bit rugged but well worth it for all the different varieties of bats you'll see, and the barn owls you can sometimes hear really set the scene. Binoculars will enable you to get closer to the stars – such as the ribbons in the Milky Way – which can be harder to see with the naked eye
Paul Boland, Property Manager, National Trust
Dog Friendly places to eat near cardigan
Dog friendly places to eat near Cardigan
Ferry Inn
St Dogmaels
Ferry Inn Riverside Pub and Restaurant, St Dogmaels. Voted one of the top 10 beer gardens in Wales.
Penllwyndu
Llangoedmor
Penllwyndu is a bustling and unique Country Inn located in the Teifi Valley, between Cardigan and Newcastle Emlyn, Wales - it is one of the few remaining free houses in the area.
The Ship Inn
Aberporth
The Ship Aberporth offers a lunch and evening menu. All food is freshly prepared and ingredients being sourced from local suppliers where possible. Well behaved dogs are welcome in the bar area.
Mountain biking Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. Great places to explore.