Town in Ceredigion, Wales
Cardigan
Cardigan hosted what is often called the first eisteddfod in 1176, at Christmas, with a chair for the best poet. Its castle is where Welsh culture's biggest festival tradition began.
Key information
- County
- Ceredigion
- Nation
- Wales
- Population
- around 4,000 (2021 Census)
- Known for
- The 1176 eisteddfod at the castle, the Teifi estuary, coracles and the gateway to Cardigan Bay
- What locals are called
- Cardis
- Famous people
- Lord Rhys (Rhys ap Gruffydd); the 7th Earl of Cardigan
About Cardigan
The Christmas party that invented the eisteddfod
At Christmas 1176, Lord Rhys, the ruler of south-west Wales, held a great feast at Cardigan Castle. He summoned poets and musicians from across Wales, and even from beyond it, to compete. The best were given chairs as prizes. It is often called the first eisteddfod, and the word has never really gone away. Today's National Eisteddfod, held every August in a different part of Wales, traces its ancestry to that winter gathering on the banks of the Teifi. Rhys himself had rebuilt the castle in stone. It was a statement: the Welsh prince was not just defending a river crossing but running a court with culture at its heart.
A castle that was nearly lost, then found again
After the Middle Ages, Cardigan Castle went the way of many others. It was damaged in the Civil War and then slowly turned into something else. A handsome Georgian house grew up inside its walls, and for much of the twentieth century the site was neglected and closed to the public. A long restoration brought it back, and it reopened in 2015 with the Georgian house, gardens and the old walls all in use again. Cardigan now has a castle where visitors can walk the ramparts and learn about the 1176 eisteddfod on the very spot where it happened.
The port that silted up
Cardigan sits at the lowest crossing point of the Teifi, a few miles from the sea, and for centuries that made it one of the busiest ports on Cardigan Bay. Ships were built here, and herring, slate and farm goods went out through the quays. In 1819 the brig Albion left Cardigan carrying about 180 Welsh emigrants to New Brunswick in Canada, one of many Welsh families who looked across the Atlantic for a better life. Then the river's sandbar made the estuary harder to navigate, and railways and larger ships pulled trade elsewhere. Cardigan's days as a major port faded, but the old quays and the bridge across the Teifi still tell the story.
Why a Cardi is not just someone from Cardigan
Locals are called Cardis, a name that also covers people from the wider county of Ceredigion. The name comes with a stereotype that Welsh comedians love: the Cardi is said to be careful with money, so careful that jokes about it fill pub conversations across Wales. The town also gave its name to a garment. The knitted cardigan is named after the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade. He took his title from the county, and his name ended up in wardrobes worldwide.
Coracles, markets and a lot of coast
The Teifi is one of the last rivers in Britain where coracles are still used for fishing. These tiny, rounded boats are carried on the back and paddled with a single hand. Races and demonstrations are part of the summer scene, and the Cardigan Regatta draws crowds to the water. In town, the Guildhall Market is a Victorian covered market full of independent stalls, with local produce, crafts and cafes. Nearby farms and dairies turn out Welsh Black beef, cheese and other produce, and seafood comes in from Cardigan Bay, including lobster and crab. The coast is on the doorstep. Poppit Sands, at the mouth of the river, lies close to the northern end of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, which runs from St Dogmaels to Amroth. Mwnt, a small cove with a whitewashed church, is a short drive away. Bottlenose dolphins are regularly seen in the bay, and boat trips set out to look for them. On the other side of the river is St Dogmaels, with its ruined abbey and working watermill. Cardigan has local rugby and football sides too, and the town is still a market and meeting place for the surrounding farms and villages.