community

Monmouth Rotary and the Raft Race

Monmouth Rotary Club once again for their 55th Charity Raft Race. The rafts launched from Monmouth at midday on September 5th, and we were on hand to provide everyone with breakfasts to keep them going! The route passes through 6.5 miles of beautiful Wye Valley scenery to the finish line in Whitebrook. Everyone was exhausted and delighted, and celebrated together with our hog roast, lots of live music and a well earned cider! Big thank you for supporting this great cause.

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outside catering birthday event

Outside Catering salmon and fresh rocket salad platter

We thought we’d share some scrumptious Summer platter pics to whet your appetite from our latest outside catering birthday event! The celebration dishes included locally sourced smoked salmon cutlets with rocket, charcuterie cooked meats and cheese selection, with creamy Coronation chicken and mini Cornish pasties. In addition there were also desserts to die for, for folk who had space to fit them in!

real hospitality

At Abbey Mill we pride ourselves on real hospitality. For us that means helpful, friendly service so that everyone feels relaxed and welcome. Moreover we are local and so is our produce! Our wine, beers, cheese, honey, meats and fish are sourced from businesses locally, whose food and drinks we know and trust. In other words good service, good food and good value are our favourite ingredients to give you a great event.

events just the way you want

BBQ’s and hog roasts are real Mill favourites with our guests. In addition we can cater for you at home, at your chosen venue or back at the Mill, or wherever makes your event absolutely right for you. Whether you are celebrating an anniversary or birthday, a christening or a wedding, we can provide everything from a formal sit down dinner to hot and cold finger buffets. Moreover as part of our service we have a dedicated wedding planner to help you arrange every detail and ensure that your wedding event is just the way you wanted. 

traditional catering to one-off dining

Our team at Abbey Mill is also able to offer a flexible and discreet catering service for wakes and funerals. At these times afternoon teas are always much appreciated and we can arrange them for any occasion. We can also provide bespoke menus for guests with special requirements, with everything from traditional catering to innovative one-off dining. Likewise custom menus are also popular with our private diners and for clubs, societies and groups. Of which, we are immensely proud to host catered events for St. David’s charity and Cancer Research Wales as part of our commitment to the local community.   

bar facilities and BYO

No celebration is complete without a toast and Abbey Mill is fully licensed to provide all bar facilities. We can offer beer and wine from our local brewers and vineyard and can also serve your own BYO drinks if you choose. In addition our prices include tea and coffee and the waiting staff to look after you and your guests. 

your event ideas

Why not call in and chat to our experienced and friendly team about your event ideas? They’ll have loads of ideas and suggestions and would be really happy to help you plan your perfect celebration. 

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first music festival since lockdown

Dark Valley Revival at Abbey Mill's first music festival since lockdown

Everyone at Abbey Mill was so pleased to welcome back Folk on the Lawn. This is our very first festival since the start of lockdown restrictions. You can’t imagine how good it was to see familiar faces together with new artists and to enjoy real music performed live. As always the mood across the four day festival was laid back and convivial. A wide range of artists showcased their work and there was definitely something for every taste. Absolutely everyone had fun, with kids dancing on hay bales and Mum and Dad relaxing with drinks in the beer tent. Even the ‘Miller’s Dad’ was busy making friends on his mobility scooter! Here’s a quick glimpse of some of the acts that we really enjoyed. 

Kahlo After Frida at Abbey Mill's first music festival since lockdown
Kahlo After Frida
Kahlo After Frida

Kahlo After Frida were the exciting final act who played the Cottage Stage on Friday. The musicians were Simon Cottle on flamenco/ folk guitar and Louise Armstrong on arresting vocals. The duo’s music reimagines the independent spirit of the artist Frida Kahlo. You can find out more about their music on Facebook.

Dark Valley Revival at Abbey Mill's first music festival since lockdown
Dark Valley Revival
Dark Valley Revival

Dark Valley Revival were the foot-tapping act rounding up Friday night’s music. This band fondly describes themselves as ‘emerging from the darkest depths of the south Wales valleys’ in 2016! Above all their music revisits bluegrass, gospel and the country songs of the past. Introducing their own vibrant, self written material gives them their unique and energetic sound. In addition the Dark Valley Revival sound is inspired by artists like Doc Watson, The Carter Family, Gillian Welsh and Gene Clark to create an exciting blend of psychedelic folk, bluegrass and punk. Similarly many of the band members have previously played with the Soft-Hearted Scientists, Gwair and Helen Love which altogether makes for a refreshingly eclectic line up of musicians.

https://www.facebook.com/darkvalleyrevival/

We Are Muffy at Abbey Mill's first music festival since lockdown
We Are Muffy
We are Muffy

We are Muffy are best known for their byline of ‘all manner of things will be well’. As anticipated they gave a mesmerising performance on Saturday night’s River Stage. The viewers backstage agreed the music was completely intriguing. Meanwhile those at the front responded with ‘we were indeed mesmerised, thanks muchly! Another audience member said simply, ‘I loved these 2 years ago’. 

Musicians Angeline Morrison and Nick Duffy are the talent behind the We are Muffy’s magic. They mostly use a distinctive array of instruments to produce a charmingly ramshackle take on Indi pop. On the other hand they are also known for their haunting English folk music. The We Are Muffy songs have also been described as ‘The good bits of Belle and Sebastian with all the drama and electrically powered stuff removed and replaced by thumb pianos’ by music writers PopMatters. On stage at the festival they were captivating and much appreciated by a very enthusiastic audience. 

https://www.facebook.com/wearemuffy

https://www.tapeterecords.de/artists/we-are-muffy/

Hey St Matthew at Abbey Mill's first music festival since lockdown
Hey St Matthew
Hey St Mathew

Meanwhile Hey St Mathew started off the Saturday evening music under the trees on the Cottage Stage. They are an Anglo-Welsh band including Sheena Bailey on guitar, singer song writer MG Boulter and Mike Bailey on bass. Together the trio use classic song craft and story telling to explore both pastoral and suburban themes. Music critics have said their work recalls late 60’s gentle psychedelia and by contrast also chamber folk. Certainly the band draws on many diverse influences. Our audience’s response was ‘these were great’ and ‘really enjoyed this set this evening’. Look out for the Hey St Mathew’s debut album which will be released in 2022. 

Peter Gowen at Abbey Mill's first music festival since lockdown
Peter Gowen
Peter Gowan

Sunday took off with Peter Gowan ‘encouraging participation/ or intimidating the audience’ on the Cottage Stage! Peter is a poet, presenter and raconteur and was styled a ‘comedy genius’ by the North Wales Pigeon Fanciers’ Gazette. Initially he started out writing serious verse but soon decided that ‘he wanted people to laugh with him, not at him’. As a result he now writes ‘terrible verse intended to make you giggle and exercise your chuckle muscle’. Judging by our active audience’s athletic response he really is a genius! 

The Folk on the Lawn festival was an amazing 4 days full of music, sun and laughter! Thank you to our gifted artists who gave their time and talents so generously. A big thank you also to our energetic and resourceful stall holders, crafters, caters and refreshementeers. We hope you enjoyed our first festival since lockdown as much as we did. We look forward to all your stories and feedback and to celebrating music and local beer together again at next year’s festival. 

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Folk on the Lawn music festival 2021

Folk on the Lawn is an innovative, rootsy and ‘chance-taking’ music festival, playing live at Abbey Mill from 15 to 18 July 2021. We hope you’ll enjoy our vibrant ‘homespun genre’, which is our acoustic antidote to X Factor fatigue! Our performers include a number of international artists and signed bands, in addition to Welsh, English and very local talent. The stunning natural setting, together with the artists’ good will, makes for a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

The festival is not-for-profit and is run completely by volunteers. Our friends and supporters lend us the space, equipment, time and, not least, artistic prowess. A big thank you to all our performers, to Abbey Mill Centre and their staff and the good folk of Tintern, for helping us stage the Folk on the Lawn festival for an 11th year.

We welcome ‘wristband donations’ in support of our artists. These are available on site and also in advance through our funding page.

See our website for a full line up of artists and also our Facebook page for more details. You can also follow us across the weekend on Twitter.

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we’re on Facebook!

These are trying times, a period in which we’re required to rethink how we go about living our lives. It’s not only businesses which have been affected but also the community, with many in Monmouthshire suffering from total isolation due to the county’s rugged landscape. Luckily, our team have been playing an active hand in combatting this isolation by introducing Abbey Mill Deliveries: pie and pasty boxes, individual and whole cake boxes and celebration and afternoon High Tea boxes! Using the world’s biggest social media platform, Facebook, as well as telephone ordering, Abbey Mill is connecting with both long standing and new customers, ensuring that they have everything they need to get through this bumpy period.

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afternoon tea delivered to my door

We’re been thinking of ways to keep our friends and visitors smiling, and help them celebrate their special occasions and still stay safe across lockdown. So many people have ordered our Afternoon High Tea Boxes, which we’ve been delighted to deliver to their doors. Christopher Wilson kindly told us about his experience through Facebook:

Treated my parent’s to an Abbey Mill afternoon tea yesterday. It was hand delivered to my door and was beautifully and thoughtfully put together. Everything was delicious and it was excellent value for money. A great treat for loved ones over Christmas and something to share with the family. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Christopher Wilson, Facebook

If you have a birthday, anniversary, special occasion or just really need a treat, please look at our box selections on our Deliveries page. You can phone through your order on 01291 689228 or email us here. We’re open for collections too and can meet most special dietary requirements. Life’s so much sweeter with a slice of cake!

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abby at abbey mill

We have a truly heart-warming story to share with you all! As the second nation lockdown has (finally) come to a close, Abbey Mill has opened its doors to the general public once again! Due the Abbey Mill Centre being pet friendly, one of our patrons decided to bring her dog along. She had such a delightful time catching up with our staff members and enjoying one of the many tasty treats which we serve at the Mill, that she was totally unaware that her dog decided to go for a wander! As the Abbey Mill has been at the beating heart of Tintern for over 20yrs, we were quick on the draw! Ensuring that everyone we knew was contacted in the hopes of finding the lost dog! Safe to say that it wasn’t long before one of our many contacts identified the dog and returned her back to the Mill! But best of all, it turns out that the lost dog was called none other than Abby! What a fairy-tale story!

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