Aberaeron - Victoria

Address: Victoria Street, Aberaeron, SA46 0DA. Tel: 01545 571838 [gmap]

Last APG visit: 07/11/2009
 

+++Now closed??+++

Not even really a pub these days, it's a downtrodden little bar that serves a tagged-on Indian restaurant (and the smells are much in evidence). The small interior is dominated by a pool table - you either sit around it on the banquette seating it or stand at the bar.  Sports TV tuned in, though to watch it you need to crick your neck from the seats by the pool table and overcome the noise from the perennial vacuuming man. No real ale, though they did have Cobra on tap. An uncomfortable place with a bad atmosphere, we couldn't get out quick enough. Frankly, this place is crap.

Borth - Bosun's Call (was Seahorse Inn/Danny's Bar)

Address: Borth High Street, Borth, SY24 5HZ. Tel: 01970 871122 [gmap]
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page (my pic again...) 

Last APG visit: 29/03/2009

+++UPDATE+++

Now appears to be called Bosun's Call

Old Seahorse review below, for posterity:

A newcomer to the Borth pub scene (so new it still smelt of wood laminate and paint) and a welcome addition. We regularly pop in for the Sunday carvery (£5, bargain!) which is very tasty with extremely generous portions. Beer-wise, there are two cask ales: a guest ale of Newmans (last visit), alongside the regular Butty Bach, with some other keg items available. The atmosphere is good and we get a warm welcome. It feels like a very community-oriented place (including an old boy playing a hammond organ in the corner to himself). There's a big screen for sports and suchlike, I watched the Boat Race on it whilst the other APGer's rinsed the quiz machine of a tenner (Are You Smarter Than a 10 Year Old really wants to pay here). Very close to the train station, so ideal for a quick pint after you've been to the Animalarium.
 

Borth - Friendship Inn

Address: Borth High Street, Borth, SY24 5JA. Tel: 01970 871213 [gmap]

http://www.friendshipinn.fsnet.co.uk/inn/inn.htm (very out-of-date!!!)
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page 
 

Last APG visit: 19/04/2008

A nice little community place, with a couple of good ales on, one of which is the rather good Butty Bach - the condition of which is usually fairly good. Interior is down a step, feels like a proper little den. Bits of paraphernalia around the walls make for homely atmosphere. Check out the unusual pub sign, double sided with a different illustration on each. 

 
Dogs are welcome and a beer garden is located out back. TV in the main bar normally with horse racing on. Some unusual pics up in the bogs. Landlord is a bit of a misery though, cheer up mate! All in all, a nice pub, good for an impromptu singalong.

Borth - Railway Inn

Address: High Street, Borth, SY24 5JE. Tel: 01970 871348 [gmap]  
Beebo site
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page (yes, that's my pic...)

Last APG visit: 01/12/2009

Quite a locals pub, with a younger clientèle than the other three in the town. Has had an extensive refurb in the past couple of years. Has a so-so ale (Rev'd James) and a quiz machine, plus darts. Functional beer garden out back. 

Check out the retro Borth FC footy shirt. Loves its sport, got SKY and Setanta. Pretty popular, and can be difficult to get a seat at weekends.

Borth - Victoria Inn

Address: Borth High Street, Borth, SY24 5HZ. Tel: 01970 871919 [gmap]
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page


Last APG visit: 01/12/2009

+++Seems to have shut and re-opened again since the review below from 2009+++

The Victoria is now re-furbed and re-opened. Popped in for a pint and noted that:

a) The inside looks like a sanitized Wetherspoons. An odd choice for Borth. 

b) The interesting ale selection has been replaced by Rev'd James. Rubbish!

c) No obvious availability of ice creams, cockles or stuffed Gorillas.

d) And no multi-coloured fairy lights outside.

Can't imagine it'll be much fun on a wet November evening. We shall see. For now, it's abdicated its place as Borth's best pub. 

Previous review, for posterity:

A really, really good pub, lots of atmosphere. Has three ales on the go (two from the fabulous Wye Valley brewery and a Rev'd James) which are usually in good condition, though the Rev'd James had to go back on our last visit. Sells cockles and ice creams (from a dark room round the back!) and has food on in a restaurant section in the rear overlooking the sea. Also has a nice beer garden (no access to the seafront though, apparently!), as well as telly and a large stuffed Gorilla called Jacko (see below, posing with Degu) who you need to guess the birthday of for a quid. Oh, and the colourful fairy lights outside too. A winner, well worth the trip to Borth for on a wet and windy Friday night!

RIP – Aber pubs of the past

Thought that opening a pub in Aber was a guaranteed way to make money? Not all succeed…

(Please be aware that these are places that mainly existed before my time - please let me know of others that I may not have heard of and memories of venues that have now morphed into a new venue e.g. the White Horse into Varsity. Any picture submissions for this section in general would be hugely appreciated. Please email bluemondayuk@hotmail.com)

CEREDIGION CC HAVE PUBLISHED A LIST OF ALL THE TOWN'S OLD PUBS, WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE

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Yr Albion - High Street, Aberystwyth SY23 1JG
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

The Albion used to be a pub/hotel up until around 1991-92. A man called Jimmy Wood used to run/own it, according to one of the comments below (thanks Ystwythgirl!). Any more info available out there?

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The Bay/Y Bae - 35-37 Marine Terrace, SY23 2DX

No longer a pub and is being converted into flats after a long period of closure.
http://aberpubs.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/bay-y-bae.html

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The Bear Necessities (Marine Hotel cellar) - Marine Terrace, SY23 2BX

Grubby dive, played host to live sets by Doctor and the Medics and Dodgy* amongst others. Occasionally spasmed back into life during the late 90’s but now more dormant than Roy Castle. Home of the legendary free pasta specials, run by Jock (now of Kanes) where he used to do free pasta as a promo on Monday evenings which must have cost him about 2-3p a portion - but succeeded for several weeks to get good crowds into the pub at six on a Monday spending good money at the bar (students will always pay for a freebie!). **

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Bluebell - Terrace Road, SY23 2AQ
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

Thanks to Jeremy for this one. The building that is now a small corner 'The Local' offy opposite Boots (older readers will remember it as the Threshers/Victoria Wine), used to be a pub called the Bluebell. It looks pretty awful currently. Being painted in May 2012 so might be coming back into use as something. Would be grateful for any further info... 
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Boars Head; Streets; Po Na Na - Queens Road, SY23 2HT
Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

+++UPDATE+++

Now being turned into flats

Small gay-friendly ‘plub’ that got changed by some berk who had less business sense than Gonch from Grange Hill into a Po Na Na; full of fibreglass sand dunes which halved the already small capacity and which subsequently went bust within 12 months (around 2001). Stood idle, save for a short period in the summer of 2006 when a squatter-run community centre emerged under the name Palas Y Bobl. Situated behind the Glen, just down from the infamous cottaging glory-hole cottaging toilets, now also boarded up demolished!

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Bottle Bar - 19 Bridge Street, SY23 1PZ

Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

Sold only bottles of drink. Brilliant idea, back in the day when Hooch, Reef and Bacardi Breezers ruled the roost. Sadly way too small and had only three seats so no one ever hung around and subsequently the place often had no customers, barring the occasional pub crawl. Genius idea though, just badly executed. Now a hairdressers.
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Farmers Arms/TJ's Video Bar - Great Darkgate Street, SY23 1DW

Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

Burnt down. Apparently was the pub next door to the Angel. According to a chap here, the Farmers was adopted by bikers, some of whom came by bus all the way from Machynlleth. The Angel was the hippy pub.

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Glue Pot/John James - 32 and 43 Terrace Road, SY23 2AE

Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

"So named because so many holiday makers were stuck there en route from the station to the beach. Only pub in Aber in the day that sold draught Bass." (see comments). Located where 24 hour Spar is now!

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The Gunners - Mill Street Street, SY23

"Next to the Mill..." (see comments)
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Jesters

"hidden down a back alley basically the back of the court royale which used to be called harleys..." (See comments)

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Kings Hall – Terrace Road, SY23 2AP

Large hotel*** and later a gig venue. Led Zeppelin played there back in the day, as well as Marillion, Free and Slade (wouldn't get that now, eh?). Demolished in 1989. Now a low-quality restaurant carvery (update - the carvery has gone bust. It was quite shit though) and flats. (pic courtesy of Charlie Downes)

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Orangery/Talbot Hotel, Brady's, El Retro - 10 Market Street, SY23 1DL


Now an Italian diner.
http://aberpubs.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/orangery.html
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The Plough – 13 Mill Street, SY23 1HZ

Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

Near the Mill and subsequently converted into flats. Thanks to Aqualung for the following:

"I recently found an old CAMRA guide to South and Mid Wales from I would guess the early 1980s or late 1970s, I couldn't find any year on the publication.

It lists the Plough at 13, Mill Street as serving Cask Banks's Mild and Bitter, so it was almost certainly one of their pubs."

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Rumours (Belle Vue rear bar) – Marine Terrace, SY23 2BA

“Dingy dive, tables made out of beer barrels*” Anyone have any info/stories on this place?

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The Seabank - Marine Terrace, SY23 2BX

"The Seabank was the only seafront pub in 1990 (the Glen was closed and the Bay was just a hotel bar) and was arguably the most popular pub in the seafront summer of '92 (before the town pubs forced the council/police to stop the seafront pubs using the prom as one vast beer garden). There was a small outside area to the front on two levels with a door to the hotel lobby with a dreadful 70s style bar on the left and games room on the right (which was converted to student accommodation when the decline set in). Can’t remember where the toilets were but the seawall sufficed for many. With the ban on drinking on the prom and the Bay, Glen and Bear intercepting most punters before they could get to the Spermbank the pub went from hero to zero and closed." ** Alas the Seabank then disappeared completely (quite literally) after the Great Seafront Fire of 1998.

(pics courtesy of, top: Nick Barnes, Cardiff and beneath: www.aber.ac.uk) 
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The Talbot
See here: http://aberpubs.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/orangery.html
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Victoria Inn - 14 Baker Street, SY23 2BJ

Ceredigion CC historical pub info page

On the current site of Treehouse (the rather super organic shop and restaurant) once stood a pub 100-odd years back. Commemorated by a small plaque on the wall.

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Defunct student bars

The Outback (Llanbadarn campus student bar) SY23 3AL

Comedy Australian theme (corrugated iron etc). Usually empty except on bar clearance nights, which were the best out of all the campus bars. Toothbrush and I got so ruined during the Xmas bar clearout in ’98 I actually lost the use of my legs for 15 minutes. Place got so mad that by 22:30 the staff started bring free drinks on trays over for punters. Heady days.

Pantycelyn student bar - Pantycelyn Hall, SY23 3BX

"Pantycelyn Bar closed around 1988ish, as it only had one fire exit, being the 'official reason'. It was said that the average grades in the hall rose the following years, from a 2;2, to a 2;1......got a chance to go there with one of the deputy wardens when I was at Panty in 2001 - it's a complete time warp, with posters from the 80s."****

PJM student bar – PJM Student Village, SY23 3TE

Soulless shithole (much like the rest of PJM really) full of third years getting depressed because they were in their final year. Never saw more than 10 people in it. Good riddance. Now appears to be a cleaners store.

Rosser student bar – Rosser Halls, SY23 3LH

Dubbed the ‘airport waiting lounge’ this was basically a superior version of PJM bar and often had quite a few customers in, especially when the football was on. Legendary landlord Dave Willis (aka Nordic Viking/Walrus Willis) ran a tight ship. The only place in Aber to sell the long-forgotten Carling Premier, pour Dooley's and serve Hot Nuts. Also had a flirtation with Hancocks HB, but that was vile. Sunday quiz in 2005/6 (immaculately hosted by a David Baddiel impersonator) and pool table (complete with bar team) were always a winner with my friends. Never my cup of tea personally but I think it’s a genuine loss now it's gone.

(pic courtesy of www.aber.ac.uk) 
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* Hat-tip - Big Bubbles (No Troubles) 

** Hat-tip - Former Aber student, Andrew Buckland 
*** Hat-tip - Jonathan 
**** Hat-tip - Anonymous!