A Day Trip to Tenby

Regular readers will know that we live very near Tenby – in fact big bro and sis go to school there! After dropping them off, Mummy and I very often park up and go into the town for a few hours – especially on a nice day. We thought we would share our local knowledge with you if you decide to plan a day trip to Tenby.

Tenby is known as the Jewel in the Crown of Pembrokeshire, and its iconic harbour features on post cards, calendars and guide books all over the country. It must also be one of the most photographed views in the UK.

Tenby is on the west coast of Wales, about two hours west of Cardiff by car. It is a little town nestled in ancient town walls.

No one knows a place better than a local – the best cafes, where the toilets are, baby changing etc. And we know them all (well pretty much all of them)!

Tenby is famous for it’s beaches, and on a fine day you cannot beat them. The main beaches are North and South – both hold the coveted Blue Flag, and are beautiful. Castle Beach also holds a Blue Flag.

Where to park – The Multi Storey is the main one and closest – and it now boasts a lift. Although it is very often broken and not working. There are car parks at The Salterns (and a Park & Ride in the season) and The Norton – it is a bit of a walk into town, but you can cut through and walk down to North Beach.

The toilets near the Multi Storey now charge you 20p to go in. 20p!! We couldn’t believe it. You have to pay to get in to use the baby changing unit too. Boo.

There are no public toilets in the town centre, but you can use The De Valence facilities at the top of Upper Frog Street (when it is open). They have a disabled loo and baby changing too.

A few cafes have Baby Changing facilities – namely The Lounge in St Georges street, behind the church, and Blueberry’s in High Street that we are aware of.

The Moorings, also in High Street is a gorgeous cafe that is the first to open in town at 8.30am and serves delicious coffee, breakfasts, lunch and dinner. Evening meals are top price but it has an excellent reputation. They have no baby changing facilities and the loos are down a little flight of stairs.

No 25 – High Street again, is another popular cafe – only open in the daytime, with loos downstairs, and extra seating upstairs. Lovely coffee, great priced, tasty food and snacks such as soup, jacket potatoes and paninis.

There are loads of other cafes, pubs and restaurants in the town, with varying menus and prices.

Make sure you don’t miss:

Tudor Square, in the centre of the town – take a moment to look at all the different buildings and architecture, and look for the quaint little alley leading down to The Tudor Merchants House – a National Trust house showing exactly how people lived in Tudor times.

The top of High Street – for the best views of the harbour. This is also the main road into Tenby town centre. Be aware that there is virtually no parking in Tenby other than the car parks. In the summer months the town is pedestrianised and you cannot drive in to it at all.

Walk down from Tudor Square to the harbour – and two other beaches – Harbour Beach a small, safe little beach, and Castle Beach to the right before you reach the harbour. There are various cafes and a little snack hut on the harbour itself.

Passing the harbour on the left, walk around Castle Hill and pass the old and the new Lifeboat Station. You can go inside the new one and see the lifeboat when it is inside. There will also be the dates and times when it has a practice launch, and you can watch that too. You can continue to walk all the way round to Tenby Museum.

There is a horse and carriage ride around the town from Spring, starting at Tudor Square which is great for little ones.

Explore the little lanes and you will find The Paragon with stunning views across St Catherine’s Island and over to Caldey Island. There are also public gardens over looking the sea, with plenty of benches – a little known, sun trap haven if you want somewhere to eat your fish and chips!

Walk along The Esplanade with its spectacular views out to see, Caldey Island and South Beach. Walk down the ramps and you will find Jubilee Park – a fab little children’s park overlooking the beach and the sea.

Mummy and I like to carry on down to South Beach where you can get lovely coffee, and delicious ice cream in the little beach hut there – or head into South Beach Bar and Grill for lunch or dinner. Right on the edge of the beach.

Thinking about Tenby, there are so many more places we could mention – there are lots of lovely restaurants – we don’t tend to eat out at night in Tenby because we live here and are usually heading home after a day exploring, or on the beach! Caldey Island is a beautiful day out, by boat from the harbour. It has a monastery, beach, lighthouse and a cafe that hasn’t changed since Mummy was a little girl, offering basic snacks and drinks. Take a picnic, and head over to explore on a dry day. The views of Tenby are simply stunning.

Tenby hosts Ironman in September – a must for triathlon fans, and Carten in May – where hundreds of cyclists ride from Cardiff to Tenby to reach Tudor Square.

I must also tell you that in the sunshine you simply cannot beat Tenby. But what about in the rain? Not so great I am afraid – there are no undercover attractions, except Ocean Commotion for children up to ten years old – an indoor soft play area with small cafe. Our advice? Bring your waterproofs to still enjoy the beaches, plan coffee and lunch in one of the many places to drink and eat or head out to somewhere like Folly Farm for lots of fun under cover.

Have you visited Tenby? What is your favourite memory?