Penparcau is a small Welsh coastal village about 1 mile (0.9 of a mile) south of Aberystwyth nestling in the shadow of the Celtic Iron Age hill fort Pen Dinas. Penparcau lies in between the River Ystwyth and the River Rheidol. From the facing side of the valley, often known as the Waun, one can see how the recent trend to paint houses in seaside pastel shades has started to become common place; like many places on the Ceredigion coast, such as Aberaeron.

There is a Anglican church, Roman Catholic church, two Methodist chapels and a Quaker meeting house. There is a row of small shops and pub called the Tollgate. The Tollgate is named after the original Tollgate that stood at the top of Penparcau and is now in St. Fagans Welsh National History Museum. From the Tollgate pub one can quickly get to the top of Pen Dinas or to the 100 acre wildlife reserve, Tan-y-Bwlch where dolphins and seals can be watched along Ceredigion's Dolphin Coast. . Penparcau also has its own woodland, Coed Geufron run by the Woodland Trust.

Holidays in Penparcau
For extreme sports fans and walkers Penparcau is the ideal location with many activities such as surfing, kayaking and para-gliding available on the doorstep. Or you could take a 10 minute stroll to Aberystwyth.

Penparcau is an ideal base to explore the many hidden coves and beaches of the region. In summer steam trains can be heard whistling as they ride along the Vale of Rheidol railway from Aberystwyth up to the mysteriously named Devils Bridge, passing through some of the most rugged terrain of any railway in the United Kingdom, and offering spectacular views. Further inland are the Plumlumon Hills, ideal for mountain biking, hiking and really escaping from the rest of the world.

Alternatively walkers will be please to note the opening of the new Ceredigion coastal path, which is a stones throw away from Penaprcau. The Tollgate pub is an ideal place in which to have a meal before heading over Pen Dinas.

Penparcau Living
Crime rates are amongst the lowest in the country and the area is very community focused, with local people often calling it the village. In recent years it has become a very popular place to buy property and live, with house prices going up by over 300%. Penparcau is a friendly place and has a real mix of people from artists to people that have lived here all there life to London bankers. The welsh language is still strong here and many locals are bilingual.

The area is starting to see a growing number of second homes being bought for family holidays and lets. This is mainly because of its location. Although there are students in Penparcau, the majority of these live in the muti-occupancy houses in Aberystwyth central. Recently Penparcau has been given a large communities first grant to further regenerate the area.

At the bottom of the valley just below Penparcau a new Welsh Assembly Government office is being built, which will house more than 750 staff, further. This has already started to effect house prices in Penparcau.

There are a range of shops in the area. The Post Office on the corner of Ty-Cam (old Penparcau), the Co-op and Spar shops, a travel agent, a garage and car sales room, hotel, holiday park and two chip shops. One is often cited as the BEST chip shop in Aberystwyth.

History
People have lived in and around Penparcau for over two thousand years. The fort is believed to have been occupied for some 300 years up to and including the 1st century BC.The hill includes twin summits and the defences divide into three systems. Excavations in the 1930s demonstrated at least four phases to the defences.

Penparcau in 1841 was known as Penparke, Penparciau or even Penparkie and stretched on both sides of the turnpike road from Trefechan to Southgate. The population of the hamlet was 239 people most of whom were workers in agriculture and related industries. There were 31 agricultural labourers and only one farmer; the next most important occupation was that of mason of whom there were eight. There were three shoemakers, two tailors and two shipwrights as well as the following: rope-maker, joiner, tanner, carpenter, gardener, sawyer, wheelwright, weaver and saddler. There is also interesting domestic architecture that can be assigned to Richard Emrys Bonsall such as the Ebenezer Chapel; still in use today. The plans for many of these buildings can be found at the Welsh National Library.

A famous feature that existed in Penparcau was the tollhouse (tollgate) it was built in 1772 and stood in Penparcau (hence the name Southgate). It was built of local slate-stone and was roofed with Pembrokeshire slates. David Jones of Dihewyd was appointed as the first gatekeeper in November 1771, and the first tolls charged on 23 March 1772. The building contains just one room, one end being used for the collection of tolls. A single fireplace at the opposite end of the house was used for heating and cooking. Tollhouses were very unpopular with people in rural areas who had to pay to travel along the roads. The house has been furnished in the style of 1843, the period of the Rebecca Riots when many tollgates were destroyed. Turnpike Trusts were eventually abolished in 1864 with county councils taking over responsibility for building and maintaining the roads.