Heart of the Dragon Festival

Over 3000 people attended a two day Heart of the Dragon Festival to celebrate the fact that the last Dragon in Wales was killed in Newcastle Emlyn:

In the beginning……
There was a beautiful dragon
Who was the spirit of the land
And the heartbeat of the world.
The people dearly loved the dragon……
But times changed……
Invaders came and wars began
They killed the dragon
Here in the castle of our town
But we love her still…
So she will return
And the heart of the dragon may beat
Once more

Extracted from Heart of the Dragon website

The Dragon's back!

Newcastle Emlyn - Saturday 4th July 2009

A Gory Tale

"On a hot summers day the townsfolk were gathered for the annual fair. Suddenly above the noise of tradesmen, cattle, music and song was heard the most extraordinary sound.

Grown men quaked in their boots and the onlookers were paralyzed with fear. There, in the sky above them, was hovering an enormous winged serpent. After circling for some time it came to alight upon one of the turrets of the castle and appeared to fall asleep.

The people were desperate to be rid of this fearsome beast. At last a tall young man strode to the front of the crowd, a red shawl under his arm, and a musket over his shoulder. He strode in to the river until he was waist deep and spread the shawl over his shoulders and took steady aim. The serpent rose in to the clear sky. A shot rang out. The Dragon swooped towards the floating shawl and clutched it in its talons.

Writhing in a whirlpool of blood, shawl and venom the serpent sank beneath the water never to be seen again. As for the brave man, as soon as the shot had left his gun he had dived beneath the water and swum to the farther bank of the river and climbed out, none the worse for his ordeal. It was said that the fishing on the Teifi was not good that year. Whether it was due to the contaminated water or fear of the beast no one is sure."

Extracted from Newcastle Emlyn website