Cardigan, United Kingdom

An ancient borough and former port at the lowest bridging point of the Teifi Estuary, CARDIGAN (Aberteifi) was founded by the Norman lord Roger de Montgomery in 1093 around a castle. From the castle mound by the bridge, Bridge Street sweeps through High Street to the turreted oddity of the Guildhall. Through the Guildhall courtyard is the town's superb covered market, a typically eclectic mix of fresh food, local crafts and secondhand stalls.

Accommodation includes the old-fashioned Black Lion pub on High Street (Tel:01239/612532, Web: www.theblacklioncardigan.com ; Price: £50), which also does food, or the basic but decent Highbury House, the old county gaol, on Pendre (Tel:01239/613403, Web: www.llety.co.uk/highbury ; Price: Up to £40). A mile and a half east of town, the sixteenth-century Rosehill Farm in Llangoedmor (Tel:01239/612019, Web: www.rosehillfarm.co.uk ; closed Nov– March; Price: £50) offers a gorgeous riverside setting and excellent evening meals. There's a YHA hostel four miles away at Poppit Sands, at the end of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path (Tel:0870/770 5996, Web: www.yha.org.uk ; closed Nov– Feb; dorms £14); buses connect in July and August, but otherwise terminate half a mile short. For food, try the inexpensive Theatr Mwldan café or Food For Thought, 13 Pendre, which offers a good range of hearty snacks and coffees.