An Aberystwyth bookshop has scooped a national award for its sustainability efforts.

When you think of books by the sea, you don’t necessarily expect the bookshop on the sea. But that’s what Bookshop by the Sea’s owner, Freya Blyth, promised when she first opened last year.

From the outset, her goal has been to provide sustainable and locally sourced books to readers in Aberystwyth.

In order to escape the storms, and be able to open all year round, Ms Blyth relocated the shop from South Marine Terrace to Market Street.

Since then, Ms Blyth and her team have won the Aber First Awards’ Retailer of the Year and now the Business First Green Goal award for sustainability.

Of the latest win, Ms Blyth said: “It was such an honour to win, we weren’t expecting it at all. We work really hard making sure our business is sustainable, and have now become a zero waste business.

“Sustainability is key when we live in such a beautiful area – it just reminds me again and again how much I want to protect the landscape that we live in, and the community that makes us feel at home here.”

But this is not all that the Bookshop by the Sea has done.

Their new location allowed them to host a catalogue of events, including art and writing workshops, as well as live music performances by artists from across Wales.

Ms Blyth said: “We want to give a platform to Welsh creatives, no matter where in Wales they come from.”

She also spoke of two events in particular; the first was ‘writing for wellbeing’, which promotes mental health improvements through writing and creative expression; the other is ‘Sunset Saturdays’, where the store stays open late, hosting musical and creative performances, amongst other activities.

“We want to be able to bring people together, particularly in these cold winter evenings,” she said.

“Having creative expression helps people process themselves and what’s going on around them – especially if they do it together. There’s something very powerful in coming together creatively in this kind of environment.”

On top of this, Ms Blyth allows other groups to use the store to host their own events. On one night each week, students from Aberystwyth University host a game night.

Being a creative writing and business student at the university herself, Ms Blyth wants to bridge the divide between students and locals.

“What makes Aberystwyth so special is that we are a community of people who want to support each other,” she said.

“It’s very important as a student to mingle with the community, that’s where Aberystwyth starts to feel like home.

“It’s what’s so special about here, and it’s why I think so many stay here after finishing their studies.”