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Aber' Factoids

Why is the place called Aber-ystwyth (mouth of the river Ystwyth) when it's on the mouth of the Rheidol?

The town used to be called Llanbadarn Gaerog (Fortified Llanbadarn) but some time in the middle ages it got mistaken for the much earlier (& even at this time, long since demolished) castle built on the other side of Pendinas, which was at the mouth of the river Ystwyth.

Pier points NorthWest not West

No, you can't see Ireland from Aber

No, not even on a clear day!

Curvature of the earth and all that

(Those 'islands' are the tops of the hill's of North Wales)

Yes, you can see Snowdon from Aber

you need to be on the prom near the pier or in the castle grounds or better still on top of Consti' and it's almost exactly North

oh yes, and it needs to be a clear day.

There is only 30° of open sea at Aberystwyth

The other 150° lead across Cardigan Bay then back to Welsh land

No, the 14inch Camera Obscura isn't the largest in the world

There's a 40inch Camera Obscura at Discovery Park

Yes, it does snow in Aber

just not very often

Aber's driest month is not in summer

It's in April

The trees lining either side of North Parade are ' Whitebeam'

Aber isn't in the county of Dyfed

Dyfed has not existed since 1996, it's in Ceredigion

don't care what your computerized Postcode2address program tells you, Dyfed is no longer a county.

Abermad

is not the term for what happens to you soon after you take up residence, but the name of a small village about 8km to the south.

Aber' is the largest town in Ceredigion

Ceredigion County Council isn't based in Aber

It's based in Aberaron (which is more central in the county), but they do have some offices in Aber

Aber' isn't the oldest university in Wales

Lampeter got its charter over 50 years earlier

No it's not the oldest university college in the University of Wales

Lampeter is a a member of the University of Wales and anyway Aber seceded from the University of Wales in 2007

Aber is the oldest of the founding members of the University of Wales

they didn't let Lampeter join for over 70 years

The mosaic on southern corner of the old college represents Archimedies receiving emblems of modern science and industry

Prince Charles did not study for his degree in Aber

(that was Cambridge) but he spent the summer term of 1969 learning some Welsh here before his investiture as Prince of Wales

You can no longer get a degree from Aber' in

• Chemistry
• Geology
• Electronics
• Philosophy
• Italian
• Russian
• Portuguese
• Greek
• Music . . . . . . . .

All these departments have either been closed down or reduced to non degree awarding status

The Uni' is down to 17 academic departments.

No, there aren't secret tunnels running from the National Library running under town.

There's a hollowed out short tunnel below the National Library that does not even reach the National Library

Aber is the town with the highest ratio of books to people in the World

most being locked away in the National Library

No, there weren't riots when Roberts brewery stopped production in the 1960's

Ceredigion is more than self sufficient in renewable electricity. It produces 3 times more than it uses