The
International
Horror Festival
of Wales

14 – 17 November 2024

The Abertoir Local’s Guide

Visiting Aberystwyth for the first time, or just looking for some useful local insights? The following guide is for you!

While we hope you spend your every waking moment with us in the cinema, we appreciate there is of course life outside the festival, so we hope the following information is useful, practical and helps you get to know our little town a bit better too.

All the information here is correct to the best of our knowledge as we’ve put it together – please do double-check opening times in case of changes.

Anything missing? You can, of course, always ask a member of festival staff for more information or assistance, or drop us a line on social media or organisers@abertoir.co.uk.

Contents

  1. Map
  2. Food and Drink
  3. Supermarkets / Groceries / Corner shops
  4. Other essentials
  5. Shopping
  6. Exercise / Wellbeing

Map

We’ve put together a Google Map with a ton of pin drops in case it makes life a little easier for you as you discover Aberystwyth!

We’ve marked as much as we can on the map, and what’s marked is not necessarily a direct recommendation of any location. It’s for your reference and hopefully helpful!

Food and Drink

The Arts Centre, home of Abertoir, has a café and a bar. We encourage you to make use of them when they’re open! The café opening times are Mon-Sat 10am-7pm; Sun 12pm-5pm, and the bar times are variable.

If you want to find food elsewhere, though, here are some ideas. Please note, all opening times listed here are subject to change, so please do check out any websites or call ahead!

Close to the Arts Centre

  • Aberystwyth Student Union (on campus)

The building next door to us is the Student Union. Here you’ll find several useful outlets.

The Shop (Mon-Fri 8pm-6pm; Sat 10am-3pm; Sun Closed) – stocks light food and snack options, including an in-store bakery, sandwiches, crisps and chocolate, as well as basic stationery, groceries and toiletries. There can be good vegan and gluten-free options here but they can run out quickly.

The Bar (Mon-Fri 11pm-11pm; Sat-Sun 12pm-11pm) – this is a relatively spacious and reasonably priced bar, though note it can (as you might imagine!) be busy with students or have events on in the evenings. Hot food is also available to order and collect here (stops at 8pm).

Info about Aberystwyth University opening hours

The Food Hall (formerly TaMed Da, Mon-Fri Breakfast 8am-11am; Hot Food 12pm-7:30pm; Sat-Sun Hot Food 12pm-6pm) – here you can find a very reasonable build you own hot breakfast and a good selection of canteen food. It can be busy here are regular meal times.

This is a good quality, take-away only chip shop (Mon-Thu 5pm-8:30pm; Fri 4pm-8:30pm; Sat 12pm-8:30pm; Sun closed) – expect all the usuals you might find at a chippy!

This is a small shop, so be aware you may have to wait outside during busy times.

This branch of Subway (Mon-Fri 7am-10pm; Sat-Sun 10am-10pm) is technically part of CK’s Foodstores (see below). All the usuals you’d expect from Subway, with some space to sit too.

CK Foodstores (Mon-Sat 7am-10pm; Sun 8am-10pm) is a small supermarket with most of the usual essentials, as well as an on-site bakery with fresh daily bread, pastries, cakes and sandwiches. If you’ve been here before note that CKs is now slightly smaller than it used to be.

In Town

Eating in town will take a little longer if you’re going to and from the festival venue, so please bear that in mind!

Aberystwyth has plenty of coffee shops and cafes, if you’re looking for a quick bite or drink to bring up the hill with you in the morning! While Aberystwyth has a Caffe Nero and a Coffee #1, we do encourage you try some of the brilliant local cafes in town too – a few recommendations below!

The town also has some chain fast food outlets such as Greggs, KFC, Subway and Dominos.

Here are a few local recommendations, though by no means is this list exhaustive! Almost all of the recommendations below have options for vegan and gluten-free diets (from personal experience!). Please visit each eatery’s website for up to date opening times.

Bars

Aberystwyth is known for its high ratio of pubs-to-people. Here are some personal recommendations if you’re looking for an alcoholic drink or two.

  • Bottle and Barrel – bar and bottle shop, fantastic range of local beers/ciders
  • Kanes – popular cider specialists
  • Ship and Castle – friendly pub good for beer (seating limited)
  • Scholars – everything you’d expect from a local pub
  • The Angel – dive-ish pub which is, arguably, the best place in town… 🙂
  • The Libertine / Y Banera – the places to be for bougie (and delicious) cocktails
  • Iries – rum and reggae bar open Fri and Sat night only, so sadly if you’re making the most of Abertoir you won’t get a chance to visit Aber’s best drinkery!

Late-night

It’s 2am, you’ve stumbled down the hill after the midnight film, and you’re hungry…

Aberystwyth has many late-night options for food, although they are all pizza/kebab shops. You can order via Just Eat or Deliveroo, or order in person.

The main Spar store in town (Terrace Road) is open 24 hours and has hot food options (see below).

Supermarkets / Groceries / Corner shops

Aberystwyth has a number of your usual chain supermarkets and shops, in case you need any essentials or you’re self-catering during the festival (recommended if you’re looking to save money!).

Other food/drink shops:

Other essentials

Pharmacies / Toiletries

Post Office

Car stuff

Shopping

Aberystwyth has a few of your usual high street stores (though admittedly, not many!), but if you’re after something unique to take home, or looking for gifts, here are some recommendations!

Exercise / Wellbeing

There is a gym on campus (around 10 minutes from the festival) that can be used as a visitor. As well as having gym and weights facilities there’s a weekly programme of classes here, including yoga.

Aberystwyth has some beautiful walks. If you’re staying in town and need to clear the cobwebs out, we thoroughly recommend an easy stroll along the seafront or a walk through Plascrug Avenue (near the bus station). These are both walks along solid surface but with some lovely scenery.

For a more rugged walking experience, Parc Natur Penglais is relatively near the festival site. Information on other longer walks can be found on Ceredigion County Council’s website. And you can always ask festival staff for a recommendation!

Remember to please take care if you do venture on any nature walks in the area, particular given the likely wet weather during the autumn!