Ffos-y-ffin

Ffos-y-ffin is a village near Aberaeron, Wales.^[1] The village is situated in Ceredigion, west Wales, and the historic county of Cardiganshire. With a population of approximately 200 residents^{[obsolete source]}, it serves as a small rural community offering scenic views across Cardigan Bay and access to the Ceredigion Coast Path.

Ffos-y-ffin in 2023

Description

Ffos-y-ffin is a linear roadside village in the county of Ceredigion, west Wales, straddling the A487 3 km south-west of Aberaeron at National Grid reference SN 446,600.^[2] The Welsh Language Commissioner records the standard form as Ffos-y-ffin—literally 'boundary ditch'—a topographical allusion to an early field dyke still visible from the bridge at the village centre.^[2] Historical notes compiled by the Ceredigion Historical Society place the settlement on the former Cardiganshire turnpike between Aberaeron and Llwyncelyn, with scattered nineteenth-century cottages later consolidated by ribbon housing in the 1960s and 1980s.^[3]

Sheltered by low coastal hills, the village looks across grazed salt meadows to Cardigan Bay. The roadside lay-by above the marsh is promoted in local tourism guides as a reliable vantage point for watching wild red kites that patrol the Aeron valley; dolphin and seal sightings are frequent off the nearby shore.^[4] The birdlife, coupled with the sweeping sea views, makes this short stretch of the A487 a favourite stopping-place on the scenic route between Aberystwyth and Cardigan.^[4]

Amenities are modest but communal. A convenience store and petrol filling station stand at the north end, while the two-hundred-year-old Red Lion Inn occupies the former coaching site beside the ditch. Reopened after renovation in 2023, the inn offers Welsh real ales and step-free access, earning a full entry in CAMRA's regional pub guide.^[5] Frequent T5 TrawsCymru buses stop at 'Ffos-y-ffin Cross', linking the village with Aberystwyth to the north, New Quay and Cardigan to the south-west, and providing onward connections to Haverfordwest.^[6] Footpaths from the A487 descend through grazed pasture to the Aeron estuary and the Ceredigion Coast Path, integrating Ffos-y-ffin into the county's wider network of walking and cycling routes.^[4]