Cistercian Way (Wales)

Through the green valleys and mountains of Wales, the Cistercian Way traces a great circuit linking all fourteen sites where the White Monks established their abbeys. From the magnificent ruins of Tintern to the remote beauty of Strata Florida, this pilgrimage celebrates the monastic heritage that shaped the Welsh landscape and spirit.

📜 History & Significance

The Cistercians arrived in Wales in 1131, establishing Tintern Abbey on the English border. Over the following century, they founded thirteen more houses, choosing remote valleys where they could pursue lives of prayer, labor, and simplicity. These abbeys became centers of learning, agriculture, and culture, playing a crucial role in Welsh medieval civilization.

The dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII left these great churches in ruins - romantic monuments that inspired artists from Wordsworth to Turner. The Cistercian Way, established in 1998, reconnects these scattered sites in a single pilgrimage embracing all of Wales.

🥾 Route Overview

The Cistercian Way forms a circuit of approximately 1,040 km through Wales, linking all 14 abbey sites. Most pilgrims walk sections rather than the complete route, which would require 6-8 weeks to finish.

The route passes through every region of Wales - from the borderlands to the Pembrokeshire coast, from Snowdonia to the Brecon Beacons. It combines established walking paths with quiet lanes and field paths, offering an immersion in Welsh landscape and history.

☩ Key Pilgrimage Sites

Tintern Abbey - Perhaps the most famous ruin in Britain, its Gothic arches rising beside the Wye inspired Wordsworth's poem and countless paintings.

Strata Florida - Remote in the heart of Wales, where medieval princes were buried and the ancient Welsh chronicle Brut y Tywysogion was compiled.

Valle Crucis - In the vale of the cross near Llangollen, one of the best-preserved Cistercian churches in Wales.

All 14 sites offer encounters with the White Monks' legacy - some in spectacular ruins, others surviving only as fragments in parish churches or farm buildings.