Beautiful Places - St Dogmaels, Cardigan,West Wales

Cardigan, on the totally unspoiled West Wales coast, is the birthplace of the Welsh National Eisteddfod. With a population of 4,200, Aberteifi (its Welsh name meaning bridge over the Teifi) stands on the banks of the river Teifi where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. Just outside Cardigan is St Dogmaels, an ancient and tranquil village nestling peacefully around a ruined Abbey at the mouth of the river Teifi. The monastery at St. Dogmaels was formally established as an abbey on September 10th 1120. It suffered in the dissolution of the monasteries and is now a picturesque ruin - well worth a visit. Near-by is Poppit Sands, one of west Wales' premier blue flag beaches with acres of golden sands and where you can get lungfulls of bracing sea breezes. That is where the wonderful Pembrokeshire coastal path begins. But it is the river at St Dogmaels that I love best - fascinating in all lights, tidal so constantly changing, but with a wonderful calmness. Nowhere quite like it on a summer evening with clouds of swallows taking their nightly constitutional before settling to roost! Why don't you take the lovely winding road across the mountains and visit the place for yourself.

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