Aberystwyth - Tourism and Local Economy

Tourism and Local Economy

As well as having two cinemas and a golf course, the town's attractions include:

• The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway a funicular railway
• A Victorian Camera obscura at the top of Constitution Hill.
• The Vale of Rheidol steam railway (The narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway)
• Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
• The Parc Penglais nature reserve
• The Ystwyth Trail cycle path
• National Library of Wales

The all organic dairy unit of Rachel's Organic is based in Glan yr Afon, and is the largest private sector employer in Aberystwyth. But many comment that due to its isolated nature, Aberystwyth has developed its own micro-economy: while Rachel's employs 130, new Welsh Assembly offices will employ 1000; the local low-pay sector is dominated by students from the university.

The Cambrian News newspaper came to Aberystwyth from Bala in 1870, after it was purchased by Sir John Gibson. Printed in Oswestry, in May 1880 the paper integrated operations in a former Malthouse in Mill Street. Owned by the Read family from 1926, in 1993 printing was contracted out, enabling the move of editorial staff to the current open-plan offices on Llanbadarn Fawr Science Park. On the death of Henry Read, the paper was purchased by Sir Ray Tindle in 1999, whose company owns more than 200 weekly newspapers in Britain. Now printed in tabloid format, Cambrian News is the second largest weekly-print circulation newspaper in Wales, with 24,000 copies in six regional editorial versions, read by 60,000 weekly readers. The circulation area of mid, west and north Wales covers 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2).