CRUISING
(lavatory) are all clearly visible and intact.
Inside the walls there are a variety of
independent shops including one that
sells incense sticks and oils and a music
shop run by father and son for 40 years.
You can buy love-spoons for your
betrothed, and one shop boasts as many
as 60 flavours of fudge. There are,
hearteningly, very few chains here.
‘Domino’s are trying to open a site right
next to the war memorial but the town
councillors are trying to stop them. We like
to keep things independent,’ says Matt.
Individual spirit
One thing Tenby has in abundance –
aside from gift shops – is places to eat.
Good job too as the population swells
from 6,000 to 66,000 in the summer and
includes contestants in the Iron Man
triathlon, one of whom I learn is Matt –
who is a busy man, also doubling as a TV
extra, bouncer and lifeboatman.
‘The Iron Man’s been good for Tenby,’
he says. ‘People come here to train and to
compete, then realise it’s such a nice
place that they come back for their
holidays. Before the competition there
were no clubs. Now there are four.’
Matt recommends the Qube and Baytree
restaurants and the The Cove for fresh
seafood. If pubs are more your thing, the
Buccaneer and Hope and Anchor are said
to be popular with the Caldey boat
skippers, all any prospective visitor to the
town needs to know.
Tucked away in a narrow alleyway I find
myself in a converted 18th century
warehouse that is home to the Tenby
Joseph Thomas
is a military ranger: ‘Tenby
has more of a cafe culture
these days. You get the
same amount of visitors – it’s always
been popular – but there’s a pedestrian
area now, which helps. People used to
just stay in Tenby but because of social
media they’re discovering the other spots
now that used to be empty. We used to
go to Freshwater West and there would
be just five or six cars. Now the car park
is so busy you can’t get in there.’Jason Ronowitz
drives the launch tractor for
the James Noel: ‘I love
everything about Tenby. I
was born and bred here. It’s a very close
community. Everyone looks out for each
other. There’s loads to do and stunning
beaches. Caldey Island is like a different
world. It’s relaxing. There’s nice scenery- and you often see grey seals and a
variety of birds such as cormorants and
oystercatchers.’Ieuan Williams
is the deputy mechanic at
Tenby RNLI: ‘I work in the
coastguard ops room at
Milford Haven. A lot of the crew here do.
Tenby is a touristy town. A lot of our
shouts revolve around tourism – kayaks,
broken down yachts and becalmed
vessels, for example. We have four
beaches, too, so a lot of missing kids!
Nothing ever changes here, which is
what I love. I went away travelling and
came back. It was exactly the same. I
love it. Cadw and National Parks Wales
don’t allow you to change anything. You
can’t even paint the houses.’Matt Broadhurst
is the harbourmaster:
‘Tenby is home. The
people, the place; it’s
beautiful. There’s a real sense of
community. When my family visit from
London they can’t believe how manypeople I know in the street. I could do
with an automated hand to wave. When I
first moved here as a I child I hated it
because the only TV channel we could
get was SC4 and I didn’t speak Welsh. I
love it now, of course.’Phil John
is the coxswain of Tenby
RNLI: ‘We had a boat
break free the other week.
It was their line, not the mooring, and it
ended up on the rocks. A local fisherman
removed the rudder and skeg, took it
home and rewelded it for them. That’s
what I love about Tenby – there’s a sense
of community here. People help each
other out.
‘The Pembrokeshire coastline is
stunning – I worked away for 10 years,
and it always drew me home whenever it
could, no matter what the season. The
beaches are great. Barafundle Bay was
voted the best in the world – better than
Bondi and all those Caribbean ones.
There’s also Swanlake Bay, Freshwater
East, Broadhaven – you can anchor off
them all.’Local insight
Tenby lifeboat station is one of
the busiest in the country and
gets numerous ‘shouts’ or
call-outs in the summer monthsDavid Philips, from the Forest of Dean,
pores over charts in his favourite portVisitors won’t go hungry in Tenby in one of
the many individual eateries in the town