A final goodbye to Aberystwyth – mixed feelings on a place that used to be called home

September 3, 2014

I’m not sure if I’ll ever return to Aberystwyth, it holds so many conflicting feelings for me. It’s beautiful and terrible in my memories all at the same time. I think that’s always the way with places you grew up, especially for formative years like the teen years. I’m SO glad I never have to relive teenagehood that’s for sure!

Aberystwyth Wales

I have mixed memories about the place I spent my teenage years, there were some fantastic moments but also soon really terrible ones too. I had a pretty reckless teenage-hood, I was frustrated and upset and awkward and unhappy for various reasons and that was mixed with the wonderful feeling of invincibility that you pretty much only get when you are 15. Subsequently, I was drinking and smoking and up to all sorts of mischief from a fairly young age (around 14 or so). I don’t regret all of my experiences as a teen, in-fact I feel fortunate I was in a location that meant we could rave in the woods (do they still call them raves?) or spend all night on the beach. The countryside and remoteness felt like a freedom that perhaps people in bigger towns and city kids wouldn’t have as much. The feeling of fearlessness and recklessness and having a good time with no consequences… I moved to Aber when I was 13 from the west midlands and I can tell you that my experience there was a lot..tamer, maybe because there was so much more for people to do and less boredom and need for escapism that you can get in very small towns.

Visiting a place that used to be home

I do however have a few regrets, largely the way I treated my parents. The times I would stay out for days in a row without calling, the rides I’d hitch, the people I’d stay with, the states I’d eventually come home in, the classes I missed, the exams I barely passed, the hurt and anger I showed them..the mama in me now shudders to think how they must have been feeling. I felt like moving to such a different location forced me to grow up sooner than I would have, I immersed myself in what I thought was an adult world but what I know as an adult see no comparisons.

Where to visit in Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth Cliff Railway is maybe my favourite part of my hometown. It’s like this Victorian marvel that gently whisks you up to the top of Constitution Hill. The views from the top? Breathtaking doesn’t even begin to cover it. Think panoramic scenes of the town, the rugged coastline, and on a clear day, the peaks of Snowdonia standing tall in the distance. It’s the kind of view that makes you want to take a deep breath in and just… pause. It also has a cafe and ten-pin bowling.

Aberystwyth is the place I made friends who are still now my closest friends. It’s the place I met my first love and some five years later the place I tried to pick myself up when my heart was breaking for the first (and thankfully last) time. It’s the place I got my first job, one that forced me out of a crippling shyness and gave me some important life lessons..(one of them being taught how to change a light bulb, ha!). It’s such a mixed emotion saying goodbye to all these memories good and bad, I couldn’t help but feel sad for the girl I was when I lived there, and also sad that I miss her a little too.