Dundrennan

The village of Dundrennan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland has become well known to visitors as the location for the annual Wickerman Music Festival that takes place each summer on the nearby farm of East Kirkcarswell. The Wickerman Festival is also known as 'Scotland's Alternative Music festival' and attracts a vast number of visitors. Dundrennan is also very well known for the ruins of the 12^th century Dundrennan Abbey. This Cistercian monastery in the Romanesque architectural style was established by Fergus of Galloway, King David I of Scotland and monks from Rievaulx Abbey. Although much of the original structure is just ruins today, Dundrennan Abbey’s striking architecture is still evident in what remains. The hard-weathering grey sandstone that it is built from has retained much of the original architectural forms and mouldings.

Dundrennan is a small village amidst the beautiful countryside of this incredible region and within easy reach of larger towns and villages nearby. Visitors to the area come to take advantage of the outdoor activities on offer as well as the historic sites and of course, the music festival and Abbey. The Cistercian ideal as pronounced by Abbot Ailred of Rievaulx: ‘Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvellous freedom from the tumult of the world’ seems key to why the abbey was built here.