Here you will find information on Active Travel in Ceredigion.

The Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 places a duty on local authorities to plan for, improve, and promote routes for walking and cycling for everyday journeys.

Ceredigion Council is required by the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 to produce a Future Route Map setting out a 15-year programme of improvements to active travel routes.

In order to meet this duty, local authorities must also publish an Existing Routes Map which shows routes which are suitable for walking or cycling and which meet the standards set out in the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Design Guidance.

The Active Travel Network Map (ATNM) is a plan of routes that Ceredigion County Council will use to inform where improvements to walking and cycling should be made within the county. It will help to make journeys on foot or by bike across Ceredigion easier and safer for everyone, particularly those who don’t currently walk or cycle often and people who use mobility aids.

During the ATNM Review we undertook public consultations in 2020 and 2021 where we invited you to tell us if the proposed routes are more likely to help you get around your local area as a pedestrian or cyclist. We considered these comments, and we drafted route plans, showing Existing and Future Routes for walking and cycling for everyday journeys in Aberystwyth, Cardigan and Lampeter. For the purposes of this review, the focus was on routes within the three Welsh Government-designated localities in Ceredigion - Aberystwyth, Cardigan and Lampeter - as well as connections to their immediately surrounding communities.

The draft ATNM was submitted to the Welsh Government on 31 March 2022. The Minister for Climate Change approved the ATNM for Ceredigion on 3 August 2022 and the maps can be viewed on DataMapWales (hosted by Welsh Government).

The Welsh Government have provided a User Guide on the DataMapWales site to assist with viewing the maps on this platform.

In case of difficulties, please contact: Data@gov.wales

Please note: the Future Routes are aspirational only at this stage and there is no guarantee that the Authority will be able to get the funding or grants needed to construct them, however we will endeavour to seek funding wherever we can. Some of the Future Routes shown are indicative alignments that may be subject to change as routes are further developed.

The Welsh Government have requested that the Existing Route Maps and Future Route Maps should be resubmitted on 1 December 2026.

The previous Existing Route Maps and Future Route Maps (Future Route Maps were previously known as Integrated Network Maps) which were approved by the Minister in February 2018, can be viewed below for reference purposes.

Integrated Network Map

Ceredigion Council is required by the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 to produce an Integrated Network Map setting out a 15 year programme of improvements to active travel routes.

Following public consultation on how to improve cycling and walking routes in the Active Travel Designated Localities of Aberystwyth, Cardigan and Lampeter, the Integrated Network Maps were submitted to the Welsh Government in November 2017. These maps were then approved by the Minister on 27 February 2018 and can be viewed below:

Aberystwyth

Cardigan (Please note that routes in St Dogmaels are within Pembrokeshire County Council)

Lampeter (Please note that routes in Cwmann are within Carmarthenshire County Council)

Please note: the routes are aspirational only at this stage and there is no guarantee that the Authority will be able to get the funding or grants needed to construct them, however we will endeavour to seek funding wherever we can.

The Welsh Government have requested that the Integrated Network Maps and Existing Route Maps should be resubmitted on 31 December 2021.

Existing Route Map

In order to meet this duty, local authorities must publish an Existing Routes Map which shows routes which are suitable for walking or cycling and which meet the standards set out in the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Design Guidance.

The Existing Routes Map will be of use for people who wish to plan their walking and cycling journeys.

It will also allow progress to be measured in the development of Ceredigion’s walking and cycling networks, as new routes are created and added to the Existing Routes Map over time.

Following public consultation in 2017, the Existing Route Map was amended and approved by Welsh Government. If you require paper copies of the Existing Routes Maps, or copies in an alternative format, please contact us.

The Existing Route Maps do not show all possible walking and cycling routes, however the routes shown have undergone an audit which shows that they meet the standards set out in Welsh Government Guidance.

The Existing Routes Maps for:

Aberystwyth

Cardigan

Lampeter

The Existing Routes Map for walking and cycling should be read in conjunction with the Statement and Explanation, which provides additional information about a small number of routes which do not meet the standards set out in Welsh Government Guidance, but still provide useful links in the overall network.

Download the Active Travel Map for Aberystwyth below (updated April 2022). 

Paper copies are available in the Town Library, Tourist Information Centre, Plascrug Leisure Centre and local bike shops in the town.

The web version of the Active Travel Map for Aberystwyth, available to download below, has been updated to include locations of new E-bike charging stations at the National Library of Wales and at Aberystwyth University Penglais Campus. These are free for the public to use, but please note that users will need their own E-bike charging plug and lead pack.

Active Travel Map for Aberystwyth

Active Travel Map for Aberystwyth

The 'Get Cycling Ceredigion' magazine includes information to help people of all ages to get on their bike and start cycling.

This magazine also includes guidance on cycle maintenance and safety and a map of the Ystwyth Trail - a 21-mile (34 km) multi-use trail linking Aberystwyth, Llanfarian, Ystrad Meurig and Tregaron with lots of off-road sections for safe, family friendly cycling.

Get Cycling Ceredigion
Get Cycling Ceredigion 2nd Edition

Council secures funding for new Active Travel route

Residents in Ceredigion are to benefit from a shared use path, following funding from Welsh Government Active Travel Fund Grant.

Transport for Wales (TfW) which administers the Active Travel Fund Grant on behalf of the Welsh Government, has awarded Ceredigion County Council nearly £1.5 million for construction of the first phase of a new shared use path for pedestrians and cyclists which will help to further connect Aberystwyth with nearby settlements of Comins Coch, and following future phase, with Penrhyncoch and Bow Street.

Councillor Keith Henson, Cabinet Member for Highways and Environmental Services and Carbon Management, said: “I am delighted to hear that the Council has been awarded this grant funding to start constructing this new active travel link. Due to the scale of the scheme it will take a couple of years to complete the full link to Plas Gogerddan where it will connect with Bow Street and Penrhyncoch via the existing shared use path network built by the Council in recent years. This is fantastic news, especially for residents of Comins Coch and pupils attending Comins Coch Primary School because the new path will have a direct connection. The Council declared a global climate emergency in 2020 and expanding the active travel network in the County will make it easier and safer for residents to make walking and cycling journeys to reduce vehicle usage, helping to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to cleaner air ambitions whilst providing real opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to lead healthier and happier lifestyles.”

In recent years, officers have been working to develop this scheme in conjunction with a number of partners and stakeholders which has included securing land to enable the new shared use path to be constructed. This scheme development work has included ecology and Sustainable Drainage regulations, obtaining planning permission and development work is ongoing in order to progress future phases to construction.

Aberystwyth University is a key stakeholder in the project and released land for the construction of the link between Bow Street, Gogerddan and Penrhyncoch. It continues to support the project being developed by Ceredigion County Council which will help create a ‘Campus to Campus’ link between Gogerddan Campus, which includes AberInnovation and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), with the Penglais Campus.

Councillor Keith Henson continued: “It is currently anticipated that construction work near Comins Coch Primary School will commence during the school summer holidays in order to help limit disruption to parents and pupils. A new cycle shelter has already been installed at the school to help encourage pupils and staff to cycle to the school. The Council is in ongoing dialogue with Welsh Government and its North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent officers who manage the A487 Trunk Road in order to coordinate construction works along this section of the scheme.”

Professor Neil Glasser, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Lead for Sustainability at Aberystwyth University said: “We are delighted to support this development and to facilitate the work being undertaken by the Council by providing the strip of land that will make it possible to connect the Gogerddan and Penglais campuses for the benefit of our students, staff and the wider community. The work will also contribute to promoting cycling and walking as alternative low carbon forms of transport as the University works towards establishing a carbon neutral estate by 2030.”

For further information regarding this scheme, please view the draft plans below:

Slideshow providing a sample of some of the grant funded active travel improvements undertaken in the County in recent years, showing new infrastructure and improvements to the network to help make walking, cycling and scooting safer and easier.  Active journeys have physical and mental health wellbeing benefits, helping you to connect with nature and green areas and also help to reduce the number of vehicle journeys to provide cleaner air and reduce carbon emissions.