Dinbych-y-Pysgod
- The 'Little Town of the Fishes'
Tenby is both
a mediaeval walled town and one of Wales' favourite seaside resorts, in
the only coastal National Park in Britain. Its ancient harbour, surrounded
by Regency houses in pastel colours, is a focus for artists and photographers
and its four sheltered beaches and safe bathing waters attract families,
with water sports for the energetic.
In the Middle
Ages, Tenby carried on a prosperous sea trade with France and Spain, Ireland
and England. One of the fifteenth century merchants' houses now belongs
to the National Trust.
The town
became a resort two hundred years ago, when the attractions of the sea
began to compete with the fashionable inland spas and here could be found
similar assembly rooms, theatre, balls and social life, with the seafaring
natives to serve the visitors' pleasure. The ancient houses, which had
fallen into ruin, were rebuilt in Regency and early Victorian styles but,
in the streets and alleyways within the twelfth century walls, there is
a variety of shops, restaurants and cafes. The high point of the town is
dominated by the ancient parish church, one of the largest in Wales and,
on Castle Hill, settled since the Iron Age, the 120 year old museum is
a treasure of the town's history and an art gallery of distinction.
Tenby is
in a corner of Carmarthen Bay, sheltered by Caldey Island, an ancient religious
settlement and today the home of a Cistercian community of monks who welcome
visitors to the seclusion and rugged beauty of their refuge.
Tenby is
a centre for touring Pembrokeshire, a county of great beauty, rugged coastline,
valleys and hills, secluded beaches and excellent golf courses. There are
world famous sea bird sanctuaries, Stone Age caves and tombs, Iron Age
forts, Norman castles - altogether some 350 scheduled ancient monuments
linked by the 300 kilometre coastal footpath.
