Borth () is a village, seaside resort and
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
,
Mid Wales
Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...
; it is located 7 miles (11 km) north of
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
, on the
Ceredigion Coast Path. The community includes the settlement of
Ynyslas and the population was 1,399 in 2011. From being largely Welsh-speaking, the village has become
anglicised
Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
; over 54 per cent of its residents were born in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. According to both the
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
and
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
es, 43 per cent of the residents of Borth were primarily
Welsh-speakers.
Features and history
Borth's sandy beach has helped to promote it as a
seaside resort
A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...
. There is a
youth hostel in the village, and
caravan and
camping
Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...
sites nearby.

There is an ancient
submerged forest
A submerged forest is the ''in situ'' remains of trees, especially tree stumps, that lie submerged beneath a bay, sea, ocean, lake, or other body of water. These remains have usually been buried in mud, peat, or sand for several thousand years b ...
visible at low tide along the beach, where stumps of
oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
,
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
and
hazel (preserved by the acid
anaerobic conditions in the
peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
) can be seen.
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
suggests the trees date from about 1500 BCE. This submerged forest also ties in with the legend of
Cantre'r Gwaelod
, also known as or , is a legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan Bay to the west of Wales. It has been described as a "Welsh Atla ...
. The stumps were exposed for a time by
Storm Hannah in 2019.
Cors Fochno, a raised
peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
mire
A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...
, part of the Dyfi Biosphere, is the only
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It is located next to the village, together with the
Dyfi National Nature Reserve and visitors' centre at
Ynyslas. The village is crossed by a long-distance footpath, the
Dyfi Valley Way.
On 4 April 1876, the entire
Uppingham School in
Rutland
Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town.
Rutland has a ...
, England, consisting of 300 boys, 30 masters and their families, moved to Borth for a period of 14 months, taking over the disused Cambrian Hotel and a large number of
boarding houses, to avoid a
typhoid
Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
epidemic.
Amenities and functions
Borth is the location of the
Borth Animalarium and the Borth and Ynyslas Golf Club, which was used for many of the scenes in TV series ''
Hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...
''.
The
Borth inshore lifeboat (ILB) station was established in 1966 at the southern end of the beach.
The village war memorial, above a cliff south of the beach, was struck by lightning on 21 March 1983 and had to be rebuilt.
In 2008 and 2009, Borth hosted
The Square Festival.
In 2011, work commenced on the first phase of a £12-million
coastal protection scheme along the Borth to Ynyslas coastline, which was finished in 2015. The work was funded by the Welsh Assembly and the EU. An unexpected consequence of the coastal defence work was to reveal the remains of the petrified forest mentioned earlier.
In 2018, Borth was subjected to a media furore over the escape of a wild
lynx
A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
from its local zoo.
In 2019, Borth hosted a community street production called ''Borth Begins''.
The village football team,
Borth United, resumed playing in the Cambrian Tyres 1st Division in the 2021–22 season.
Transport
Borth railway station is on the
Cambrian Line
The Cambrian Line (), sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line () and Cambrian Coast Line () for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury in England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services ...
. It is generally served by hourly trains each way between
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
to the west and alternating between
Birmingham International and
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
in the east. Services are operated by
Transport for Wales.
The station building houses ''Borth Station Museum'', which displays community and railway historical artifacts and temporary exhibitions. The museum is run by volunteers.
Governance
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
named Borth stretches south-east to
Geneu'r Glyn. Its total population at the 2011 Census was 2,078. Borth is also the name of a ward in the current Ceredigion County Council, covering the communities of Borth and Llandre.
Local government history
Borth had a representative on
Cardiganshire County Council from its formation in 1889. The first councillor elected was Rev. Enoch Watkin James, Brynderwen, a Liberal candidate and
Calvinistic Methodist minister. After his election in January 1889, according to a local newspaper, "flags were generally displayed and after nightfall bonfires lighted, fireworks discharged, houses illuminated and hundreds of people paraded the streets up to a late hour. About six o'clock, the rev. gentlemen and friends were drawn in an open carriage through the village and, addressing the assembly, said that the day was rapidly approaching when laws would be made by the people for the people."
Borth was represented on Ceredigion District Council by Tom Raw-Rees, from the 1970s until his death in 2001. He latterly sat also for Borth on Ceredigion County Council. Before 1996, the Borth ward for elections to
Dyfed County Council
Dyfed County Council () was the county council of the county of Dyfed in south west Wales. It operated between 1974 and 1996. The county council was based at County Hall, Carmarthen.
History
Dyfed County Council was created on 1 April 1974 und ...
covered Borth,
Ceulanamaesmawr and
Tirymynach.
In popular culture
* The 1976 award-winning children's fantasy novel, ''
A String in the Harp'' by the American author
Nancy Bond, is set in Borth and the surrounding countryside.
[Nancy Bond, ''A String in the Harp'', Atheneum, 1976.]
* Borth,
Cors Fochno and the
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
form the backdrop to the main storyline in series 1, episode 4 ("The Girl in the Water") of ''
Y Gwyll'' (''Hinterland'' in English), transmitted on
S4C
S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...
in 2013 and BBC1 Wales in January 2014.
Notable residents
*
Lindsay Ashford (born 1959 in
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
), crime novelist and journalist, currently lives in Borth.
*
Frank Bickerton (1889–1954),
Antarctic
The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Antar ...
explorer and aviator, died in Borth.
*
Michael Oliver (1925–2015), cardiology professor, was born in Borth.
*
Mark Williams (born 1966 in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
) was the
Member of Parliament (MP) for the
Ceredigion constituency in 2005–2017.
Image gallery
File:Badgernet BorthBeach1.JPG, Submerged forest remains
File:Upper Borth 01.JPG, Borth Beach in the summer, looking south
File:Submerged forest at Ynyslas, Ceredigion.jpg, Sunset on Borth sands near Ynyslas, looking north
References
{{Authority control
Wards of Dyfed