Strata Florida Abbey/Abaty Ystrad Fflur, Strata Florida

The Welsh Cistercian Way and the Teifi River Pilgrimage visit this peaceful monastic ruin, never a major site of pilgrimage in its day but a place of rare beauty

‍Highlights

• Abbey ruins in peaceful valley setting.

Strata Florida: the valley of the flowers. Even the name of this former abbey carries hints of an earthly paradise, a spot blessed by nature and made sacred by the workings of man. Its once mighty walls lie in ruins, only the perfect curves of its entrance archway hinting at past glories. Almost nothing else survives above waist height.

The striking arch was once the main ceremonial entrance to the abbey church, the Great West Door of a building that stood 65m in length. The view today is now dominated by green hillsides and grazing livestock. It is perhaps rather fitting that this once powerful monastery has fallen quietly into ruin. It was never a major centre of pilgrimage but instead drew monks, monarchs, and scholars in search of solitude or a safe base. As a quiet place to contemplate the past glories of monastic Christianity in Wales, it has no equal.

A display panel by the entrance makes the rather grand claim that Strata Florida was the “cultural and religious centre of Wales.” It certainly became one of the country’s most important places of learning and creativity, but during the time it flourished, both Llandaff and St Davids were jostling for pre-eminence among Welsh monasteries. Strata Florida, by contrast, stayed somewhat removed from the noise of church politics. It did develop as a royal political base, however, thanks to its patronage by Lord Rhys (Rhys ap Gruffud), who ruled over the kingdom of Deheubarth in southwest Wales during the late 12th century.

Perhaps the best evidence that Strata Florida lacked the spiritual gravitas of other leading monasteries and cathedrals is the fact that there are no saints attached to the history of the site. It was founded in 1164, long after the Celtic Age of the Saints. Llandaff in Cardiff was turned into a cathedral around the same period (1120) and hastily improvised a spiritual pedigree by translating the bones of St Dubricius and St Teilo and adopting the obscure St Oudoceus as a supposedly local bishop. Strata Florida made no such effort, the monks perhaps deciding to avoid the distractions of mass pilgrimage in return for a quietly productive life. It certainly boasts an impressive literary pedigree. The historian Gerald of Wales (died around 1220) and the poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (died around 1350) are both thought to be buried here.

Spiritual continuity on the site survives in the shape of a small and still active parish church, built from the rubble of Strata Florida in 1815. Like all Cistercian monasteries, the original Strata Florida church was dedicated to St Mary, as is the current church.

The surrounding countryside remains sparsely populated, the result of an exodus following the arrival of the railways in the 19th century. Yet its cemetery is still in use, a last resting place for people from across Britain with family roots in this peaceful valley.

Strata Florida/Ystrad Fflur, Pontrhydfendigaid, Ceredigion SY25 6ES

www.cadw.gov.wales (search Strata Florida)

W3W: stint.skims.bikers

GPS: 52.2753N 3.8394W‍

Strata Florida Abbey is just over a mile to the southeast of Pontrhydfendigaid, along Abbey Road, which meets the B4343 at the southern end of the village. The abbey ruins are managed by Cadw, which charges £4.20 for adults, £3.40 for concessions, and £2.50 for children. However, the ticket office is unattended in the winter when access is free. The parish church of St Mary is open daily from 10am–5pm, May to September.