— 5 — Observer Summer Guide 2018


Observer Summer Guide 2020 HOLIDAY GUIDE 2020 — 6 — WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO SEE IN SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE Caldey Island (see page VII)


Caldey Island (see page VIII) was first inhabited in the mid- Stone Age and has been the home of monks since the 6th century. In Welsh it was called Ynys Byr (‘Pyr’s island’, after the abbot Pyr), but Viking invaders named it ‘cold island’, which is Caldey in Norse. During the Middle Ages the island was occupied by Benedictine monks from Pembrokeshire. In the early 20th century, ‘druid monk’ Aelred Carlyle restored the Norman priory and St. Illtyds Church and established the present abbey; in the 1920s, his order sold the whole island and Caldey has ever since been the property of an originally


Belgian group of


Cistercian monks. The island welcomes around 55,000 day- trippers each year. It has its own currency (the Dab) and unique postage stamps. It famous


is for homemade


chocolate and fragrance. As well as the ecclesiastical buildings and facilities such as a tea room, landmarks include the lighthouse, built and a cross


inscribed


in 1828, with


Ogham, a form of text used on monuments between the 4th and 6th centuries. Little Caldey, or St. Margaret’s Isle, is a sanctuary for birds and seals.


The Welsh name for Tenby is Dinbych-y-Pysgod, means ‘little


which fort of fishes’.


Harbour wall anglers may catch mullet, bass, gurnard, black bream, plaice and flounders. For mackerel fishing there are bookable boat trips available. Crab and lobster are fished commercially


and fresh local


lovers can expect to enjoy some


seafood fish


or


shellfish in town during their stay.


Overlooking Caldey Island with Pembrokeshire Safari Tours. Sunset over South Beach seen through the bandstand on Castle Hill


Pembrokeshire Safari Tours


Pembrokeshire Safari Tours is a must for anyone wanting to make the most of their time in Pembrokeshire. Departing from Tenby ‘The Classic Tour’ will follow the breathtaking southern coastline as well as the rural side of the county. Expect to see world class beaches, magnificent coastal views, wildlife, local produce, heritage and sights of interest, such as:


• Manorbier Beach/Castle • Broadhaven South


• Green Bridge of Wales • Angle Bay


• Carew Tidal Mill/Castle


Preseli Mountains, Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber, the Gwaun Valley, Porthgain Harbour and the Blue Lagoon Abereiddy.


Other Tours Available. North Pembrokeshire Tour - Highlights of this picturesque trip will include the


Pembrokeshire’s fascinating history. Castles featured are Manorbier, Pembroke and Carew.


Castle Tour - This tour will give you the chance of a more in-depth look into Tenby Carriage Rides


Daily throughout the season, from 11am until 5pm, carriage rides leave from Tudor Square, operated by local company Carriages in the Park.


Make your visit to Tenby memorable with a tour of the old town - and a commentary brings it alive. Learn the history of the walls and the islands of St. Catherine’s and Caldey.


The long tour (bookings only) highlights the development of Tenby as a seaside resort.


Telephone 07816 482923 . Times and prices can be found on


the Facebook page, ‘Tenby Carriage Rides’.


Private Hire/Bespoke Tours - If you want to exclusively book a tour so you are just in the company of your friends and family then this private hire option is for you. A bespoke option is also available if you would like a tour tailor made to your requirements.


Tel: 07792720707 . Website: www.pembrokeshiresafaritours.co.uk Tenby Carriage Rides


Come and visit us in Tenby! Carriage rides from the Tudor Square.


Daily through the season


Check our Facebook page “Tenby Carriage Rides” for times and Prices


Call 07816 482923 to book


www.carriagesinthepark.co.uk enquiries@carriagesinthepark.co.uk


11am ’til 5pm St. Catherine‘s Island and the popular Castle Beach


• Stackpole Quay/Barafundle Bay • St. Govan’s Chapel • Freshwater West • Pembroke Castle


The Plantagenet, opposite the Caldey Shop in Quay Street.


The Plantagenet


The Plantagenet – Tenby’s oldest house is a delightful 13th century building (next to Tudor Merchant’s House) and close to the harbour. Plantagenet has been featured on BBC TV and radio along with Sunday Travel supplements and International guides. Relax in the best example of a mediaeval Flemish chimney in the area.


The Quay Room is the original cellar of Plantagenet House serving early morning Cappuccino, real ale, bangers and mash, etc. – and is very relaxed indeed. The restaurant offers a genuine home-made menu with fresh fish and seafood, home-made vegetarian, vegan and gluten free dishes, local Pembrokeshire steaks and lamb, duck etc... Excellent chateau bottled wines, real ales etc.


• Open all year. Good Food Guide. International Vegetarian and Vegan Guides. Let’s Go Guide. Western Mail: ‘One of the best 25 restaurants in Wales’. Daily Mail: ‘The best fish and seafood restaurant in this part of the country’. GQ Magazine March 2017.


Tel: Tenby 01834 842350 www.plantagenettenby.co.uk St. Julian’s Street, Tenby. A Greek text adorns Paxton’s 19th century former bath house. WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO SEE IN SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE The Old Convent and Five Arches Gate. Cofion and the Tudor Merchant’s House.


Tenby’s iconic TownWalls add to the natural defence of majestic limestone cliffs. They date from the 13th century, but took two centuries to achieve their current height of 25-foot. Originally


they Princes.


Having been slowly added to during


the tenures of


successive Earls of Pembroke, they were repaired again in 1588.


protected a


Norman-dominated population from


attacks by the Welsh


Some 50 years later, the walls withstood a three-day attack during the Civil War, and, four years further on, enabled the town


to resist Cromwell’s


forces for 17 days before surrender became inevitable.


Surviving features of the Town Walls


include two levels of


arrow slits (indicating that the height of the walls changed in the course of history), keyhole ports, cannon port and garderobe (near the square tower in St. Florence Parade).


There was once a North Gate near the top of White Lion Street. It suffered some damage from Parliamentary troops in 1644 and was finally demolished in the 18th century to give better access to the town. Further demolition was prevented in 1873 when Dr. George Chater obtained a court injunction preserving the walls and arches.


Sir William Paxton improved the mail service to Tenby and bought nine houses to let out. He also bought a derelict property he presented to the town council to demolish so the High Street could be widened. He converted the Globe Inn into a grand residence for himself (now the Tenby House Hotel).


By persuading effectively the


council to knock down a central row of shops and the ransacked Market Cross, Sir William


created Tudor Square.


There was still much poverty among the fishing community, but by 1850 Tenby had developed into a thriving resort catering for the upper classes.


The ‘Five Arches’ gate, which has been the symbol of the international Walled Towns Friendship Circle since being founded in 1991, was originally the South West Gate, impenetrable except through an iron portcullis in the entrance that looks along the South Parade. You can still see the slots for the portcullis.


Carriage rides from Tudor Square.


Astonishing as it may seem today, accounts around 1800 tell of a crumbling, dilapidated Tenby; pigs roaming the High Street. The emergence of Tenby as a popular seaside resort owes a lot to Sir William Paxton, of Middleton Hall, Carmarthenshire, where the National Botanic Garden of Wales is based.


(John Wesley had preached at the cross, the remains of which are in a private Tenby estate).


Sir William provided Tenby with a new water supply, redesigned the harbour approaches and built the town an impressive bath house. Laston House - the castellated, round-ended building at the harbour - was a public bathing house with two swimming baths, vapour room, billiards room, refreshments area and guest accommodation. You can still read the Greek inscription over the door which finds tragedian Euripides


agreeing with


fashionable Victorian sentiment: “The sea washes away all the ills of men.”


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