Activities & Events

The Llandudoch abbey site has been used for many years to organise events that not only celebrate the rich heritage of St.Dogmaels but also act as a social focus for this closely knit community. A group of dedicated players has, for the last 22 years, performed a variety of Shakespeare's plays The current group of Abbey Shakespeare Players first got together in 1987, its founding members being Ian Wood (who originally thought of the concept of The Players), Richard Carwardine and Clive Burgess. All three attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Each year at the end of July and the beginning of August they gather in the village to recruit local talent and prepare for their week of performances in the atmospheric grounds of the abbey ruins.

On Bank Holiday Monday each year Hanes Llandoch provides a Medieval Day around the abbey site. Locals and visitors attend in period costume and enter into the spirit of the day as they have a go at archery, cooking, fishing, handicrafts, juggling and the art of the court jester. On the mill pond the local coracle men give lessons in the ancient art that is still practised today around the villages upstream. For those less active the monks will provide an ancient version of the “human” fruit machine and the local musicians and singers will entertain.

Tradition holds that the Carreg-y-Fendith (Blessing Stone) on the Netpool is where the Abbot blessed the fisherman before they set out on their fishing season. The stone, also called Carreg Ateb (Echo Stone), was re-discovered in the 1960s. St.Thomas's Church has re-established the ceremony of "the Blessing of the River”. The event is now re-created each year when the vicar leads a procession along the river to the stone. Boats and fishermen gather below in the “Netpool” on the river Teifi to receive the blessing.