Aberporth
Encyclopedia
Community (Wales)
A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....
and small town in Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
on the west coast of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The population was 2,485 in 2001.
Location
The town lies at the southern end of Cardigan BayCardigan Bay
Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales....
about six miles north of Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
and ten miles south of New Quay
New Quay
New Quay is a seaside town in Ceredigion, West Wales with a resident population of around 1,200 people. Located on Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, it remains a popular seaside resort and traditional fishing town.-History:...
approximately one mile west of the A487
A487 road
The A487 is a trunk road in Wales, running up the western side of the country from Haverfordwest in the south to Bangor in the north.It starts at Merlin's Bridge near Haverfordwest, from where it travels north west to St David's, then switches back north east through Fishguard, Cardigan, Aberaeron,...
, on the B4333.
History
In the 16th century, Aberporth was a subsidiary landing point for the port of Cardigan. Boats, nets and salt for preservingCuring (food preservation)
Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...
were brought in from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It developed rapidly in the late 17th and early 18th centuries as local people began to take part in the maritime trade. It became a very active port with the northernmost of the two beaches extending into the river valley and provided a safe anchorage. Limekilns, coalyards and warehouses were built on its south shore.
Aberporth developed into one of the main centres of the herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
fishing industry in Wales. Drifting and netting were both employed and at one time at least 20 full time herring smacks
Smack (ship)
A smack was a traditional fishing boat used off the coast of England and the Atlantic coast of America for most of the 19th century, and even in small numbers up to the Second World War. It was originally a cutter rigged sailing boat until about 1865, when the smacks became so large that cutter...
, a type of traditional fishing boat
Traditional fishing boats
Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as fishing boats to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization , at the end of 2004, the world fishing fleet...
went to sea regularly. The industry persisted until the beginning of the First World War when fish stocks declined. Crab and lobster fishing continues on a small scale to this day.
Amenities
The main industries are Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
work at the QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
missile range, and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Its Anglican parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
is St. Cynwyl's http://www.stcynwyls.co.uk within the Church in Wales
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
. The church is open daily and visitors are welcome to attend services. It is a small church that was renovated in 1857, but has decayed in the last few decades and modernisation is long overdue. Although the congregation is mainly elderly there is an active children's club associated with the primary school.
ParcAberporth
ParcAberporth
ParcAberporth is a technology park created on what was Royal Air Force station Aberporth, near the village of that name in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The station was one of two local sites that had been used as a site for a missile range that stretched out for some miles into the nearby...
is located near here, and has become a noted centre of excellence in the sectors of defence, aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
and in particular the developing technology of unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
s (UAVs). ParcAberporth is linked with the world class research facilities at the nearby University of Wales, Aberystwyth
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
.
The picturesque village overlooks two sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es and is one of Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
's favourite holiday destinations, proving popular with tourists throughout Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. Rock pools are exposed at low tides and the cliff top walks along the Ceredigion Coast offer extensive views.
Bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
s are seen frequently close to shore. In 2006 orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
s and harbour porpoise
Porpoise
Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
s have also been seen but such sightings are rare. Even rarer was a turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
seen in 2005. Sunfish
Ocean sunfish
The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of . The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally...
and basking sharks are often seen offshore in the summer.
Aberporth is a popular recreational fishing village in the summer and is also popular with divers and boating people. It has two good beaches and has been awarded a blue flag for its beaches several years running due to the high water quality found in this area.
Near Aberporth lies Aberporth Airport
Aberporth Airport
Aberporth Airport is an airport near the village of Aberporth, in the county of Ceredigion, West Wales. The site is being developed as "" for domestic flights within Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom. The airport is also developing as a centre for the deployment of civil and military...
(West Wales Airport).
Education
In 1834, Aberporth School was established, and had 31 pupils in 1836. In 1854, a building with a capacity of 110 pupils was built, and the average attendance in 1904 was 68. It was a national schoolNational school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
until 1926, when it changed to a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
school. In 1915, a council school was established.
The primary school in Aberporth is Ysgol Gymunedol Aberporth.
Weather Station
The Met OfficeMet Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
has a weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
at Aberporth. Data is available going back to 1941.
Typically, less than 3 days of the year will reach 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above, the warmest of which should rise to 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) - The highest temperature recorded at Aberporth was 32.7 °C (90.9 °F), during July 2006.
On average 18.3 nights will report air frost and the coldest night of the year should fall to -4.5 C. The lowest recorded temperature was -9.9 C, during January 1963
Rainfall averages around 870mm a year, with at least 1mm falling on 143.5 days.