Travel Tuesday: surprised by Tenby in Wales

I never intentionally visited Tenby.

That is, Brendan and I were looking for cycling/running events in June and found one that suited us – a half-marathon for me and a 112 mile ride for Brendan on the same weekend and in the same place. The fact that it was located in a town called Tenby in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales was inconsequential to us. Even when I told people where I was headed for the weekend and they let me know how beautiful Tenby is I didn’t believe them. Last time someone told me how wonderful a beach was I ended up on the pebbled shores of Brighton, unimpressed not even beginning to describe how I felt.

Consequently, I arrived in the town of Tenby with absolutely no expectations, and was greeted with this:

Talk about exceeding my expectations! This tiny walled town is stunning, especially when the sun is shining as it was when we were there. There are sweeping, sandy beaches, very much unlike the rocky shore I found myself on in Brighton and cute, colourful homes and storefronts. Here are a few pictures of the beautiful scenery we saw over the weekend:

Although the weekend was mostly taken up by running up hills in pain and cheering for cyclists, we did get to enjoy a few local sights within and beyond the ancient walls of Tenby. The castle looming over the town of Pembroke, just a 20 minute drive from Tenby, was the starting point for the half-marathon as well as a lovely spot for a Saturday afternoon stroll:

We drove through country lanes so narrow that the grass on either side swept the side of the car; ran, cycled and drove up and down the green rolling hills; and admired stunning cliffs above rugged beaches…it really is a beautiful part of the world and well worth a visit, especially in Summer (when the sun was out the scenery was so much more spectacular).

How to get there: We drove from London, which took about 4 hours, or it’s around 5 hours by train (including a stop in Swansea).

Where to stay: there are loads of accommodation options, from hotels to campsites, B&Bs and everything in between. We stayed at The Parsonage Farm Inn, which is a country pub with accommodation available; the food in the restaurant was delicious and the pub was set in the tiny village of St. Florence, just 10 minutes from Tenby.

If you’re looking for a beautiful and quaint weekend getaway, I highly recommend visiting Tenby…I honestly didn’t know the UK had such pretty beaches until I set my eyes on this lovely little Welsh town!