Am I the only person who doesn’t get Tenby?

[Aquabi]

Obviously no offence intended. Different strokes for different folks.

So we have some Canadian cousins coming over in Sumer and as an extended family we are putting together an itinerary. Everyone has said we need to do a typical seaside town. It is pretty much unanimous that everyone in the family chat has decided Tenby is the #1 choice.

Don't get me wrong the actual landscape was outstanding. But I found Tenby a little bit drab given how popular it was. It was heaving which I didn’t mind but I really do not get the hype.

I went a few years ago in Summer and was expecting to find this absolute gem and it was fine. I enjoyed some of the bakeries.

Am I the only person who doesn’t get it?

I thought even the beach at Southend was awful. It was heaving with the ‘Look at my red trousers’ brigade and there was no easy way to find food. Also so many signs with rules for what you can and can’t do!

It’s my sister’s favourite place and I just don’t get it.

I like it because I remember that's where we discovered how much our late lovely doggie enjoyed being buried in the sand whilst being fed ice cream. May not be particularly healthy but he was a youngun and lived a longish happy life after that time.

Sorry that was supposed to quote @spoodlesee

Loathe Tenby. Sometimes it's relatively OK when it's out of season, but otherwise, it's full of loud, braying, entitled tourists. Hate tourist season. It's a nightmare trying to get anywhere.

Are people OK? Do people genuinely think Mumbles is nice? Why? Another place we don't go, for the same reasons as above.

I just see it as somewhere my grandparents used to go on holiday, nice enough but not worth driving five hours or more to when I have the south coast and France nearby.

Pembrokeshire is my favourite place in the world.

Personally I like Tenby, but wouldn’t go in the height of the season as it’s so busy. Prefer to go to the beaches which often you get to yourself or certainly very quiet.

Love Barafundle, the Freshwaters, West Angle (awesome cafe there), but my preference is to be north of the Cleddau. Marloes, Broad and Little Haven, Newgale then around to Caerfai and Whitesands.

Solva is beautiful and well worth a visit, and I love St Davids.

My highlight when I visit is always a trip to Skomer to see the puffins.

@Hhoudini I remember we found food ok but lots of red trousers! 😆

Go on then. I will bite. What was ghastly about it?

Yeah, so it's perfectly OK to say you don't get somewhere. She's not saying it's rubbish, just that it didn't click with her.

Tenby is the poundshop St.Ives.

The Yorkshire & Northumberland coasts are stunning - obviously some distance away from Tenby! Perhaps you could base yourselves in Whitby or Amble and take in some glorious countryside too?

@PandorasJam I see “by” is a Norse place name ending. There’s also Goodwick and Fishguard in north Pembrokeshire which have Norse origins, so the Vikings obviously made it to Pembrokeshire.

I’m not a big fan of Tenby either, but then again I much prefer north Pembrokeshire to south Pembrokeshire.

Mine too! I could have written this. That calming feeling as you start to drop into town and get glimpses of the sea and Caldey Island.

We generally go out of season (October and February half terms) and it’s so nice to walk around the town and everything is still open (unlike a lot of other seaside places). Duck into a cafe with a view of the sea and watch the waves crashing in on a stormy day or having a paddle on an unseasonably warm day and then fish and chips on the esplanade. The kids love the sweet shops there and I’m partial to a bag of liquorice torpedoes.

Ill admit though, we did go once in the summer (camping near manorbier) and it was sooooo busy you couldn’t move on the high street and all the cafes were packed - I won’t do that again.

I've never been to Tenby.

We didn't go to repeat holidays so much when I was a child so I don't have a fixed nostalgia place and happy to try out anywhere.

Had a lovely holiday in Aberaeron, Cardigan a couple of years ago. The place we stayed was pretty perfect and the weather was so much better than I expected for U.K. - sunny and warm. But it wasn't correspondingly overcrowded.

So most places can be made or ruined by great or poor weather and/or tonnes of tourists, lack of them. . It's the luck of the draw in that regard. Stayed in a beautiful little cottage in Devon last year in the countryside but it pissed down with rain almost non stop and that was very disappointing.

All UK seaside towns are bit 'drab' with very few exceptions. I live in one. Haven't been to Tenby since the mid-80s at the insistence of a bf who hankered after the 'crab sandwiches' from his childhood. They were fine as was Tenby.

I remember the trip well because the clutch burnt out on my car and we had to extend our stay whilst it was being repaired. The B&B we were staying at were kind and sympathetic to our circumstances and overall we ate more crab sandwiches than we had initially planned.

I love Tenby but not in summer. Easter or October for me. So many beautiful places around and great places to eat.

These are Easter a couple of years ago

Gower is sooo much nicer in my humble opinion.

I do 😊 I feel a bit like I might do if you had told me my beautiful newborn baby looks like a funny potato 🤣

Tacky and not a lot around it. Very overpriced and not for me at all

Tacky? Maybe it’s changed since I lived there but I’d never have called it tacky. Not been back in 15 years.

Tacky?
I'm intrigued as to what you consider tacky?
It's not a word I would use to describe Tenby. Not when we also tend to visit Blackpool at least once a year too 😂

@PandorasJam It's got a Welsh name, as pp, Dinbych-y-pysgod.
There's another Dinbych, which, in English, is Denbigh.

@MasterBeth I've been to St Ives. It was so crowded we didn't even park the car.

This made me lol! Only because I live local to the area…and avoid it at all costs in the summer. It’s so busy. I thought the popularity extended to the valleys but not England. Would be interested to know where you’re from. I personally think there are nicer / prettier areas to visit

You've just described my ideal week in Pembrokeshire Tenby is nice enough and very family friendly, but the area around St David's is special.

How about Dartmouth / South Hams area? There's loads around there to keep visitors busy, e.g. Greenway, Burgh Island, castles, beaches