The History of Tenby
The town of Tenby dates back to the Norman conquest and because of its remote location it remained off the tourist trail until the Victorian era with the arrival of the railway. When wealthy merchant families from Swansea, Cardiff and further afield arrived Tenby suddenly became popular and that appeal has remained ever since.
There is no ‘tacky’ in Tenby!
Although, Tenby is one of Wales’ most popular holiday destinations, it has never been over commercialised nor does it have gaming arcades that blight many other Victorian tourist towns. Quite a few of the Victorian era tourist towns have cheapened their image over the years and suffered for it by attracting less discerning visitors – but rest assured Tenby has remained a heritage town with a unique and friendly flavour.
It still has that medieval vibe today with quaint stone-faced shops and restaurants that have a certain old world charm about them.
When we stopped in Tenby on that warm July day, we wandered around discovered an independent book shop, tea rooms and gift shops – a high street with no retail chains is certainly something of a novelty these days. Tenby is a hit with the canines too with lots of premises with ‘Dogs Welcome’ signs, so when we finally decided to eat at a pavement café our trusted pets rested at our feet with a complimentary bowl of cold water.
After lunch we walked around and soon made our way to the fine sandy beach where we could hire deck chairs, wet suits or any amount of beach accessories if we had been able to stay longer. Tenby has a harbour filled with worked fishing trawlers and boats to take visitors to nearby islands or on a wildlife trip along the coast. We saw as we walked along Tenby’s South Beach the signs for the start of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path and indeed in the distance we could see a great view of Caldey Island.
Tenby has lots of caravan sites and is very popular with English tourists with families and it was easy to see why. Food and drink are very reasonably priced with lots of hotels, restaurants and cafes having special family offers. But it doesn’t have that crowded, noisy, packed feel you sometimes get with tourist resorts, but rather it seemed a relaxed place where families across the generations could holiday together. It was upmarket and quaint without being over-priced or posh.
We had limited time in Tenby but have made plans to go back this summer as we want to check out Oakwood Theme Park. It is a few minutes drive from Tenby and has some of the largest wooden rollercoasters in Europe. It has great daily offers and looks the perfect location for a family.
There are quite a few hotels in the town and in the surrounding area, so lots of accommodation options, you can stay in a town close by and step back into the Victorian era by taking the train to Tenby, or stay right in the heart of this amazing town itself – wherever you stay you won’t be disappointed by your time in Tenby!