I visit country’s best seaside town every year without fail

This seaside town is my happy place. I visit at least once a year and feel instantly at ease every time I arrive. It’s got more than enough of everything that makes a perfect British seaside town: beaches, independent shops, history, excellent pubs, welcoming cafes and good restaurants.

And it’s just been named (again) among the best seaside towns and villages in the UK after a survey of more than 5,000 people by the well-respected consumer champion Which? They scored it five (out of five) for its seafront, scenery and beaches. Overall, it scored 75%, making it the best seaside town in Wales. However, it didn’t come top for the UK overall — that title went to Bamburgh in Northumberland.

Tenby’s natural and architectural beauty, the quality of what it has to offer visitors, the fact it has four different beaches all walkable from the town itself, and its location as a gateway to one of the most beautiful parts of the world all make it a must-visit destination. An autumn long weekend with friends is an annual ritual for me and I try to spend at least another weekend there in the summer, when it is at its best.

Once a town with a sense of faded seaside grandeur and a reputation for stag and hen parties, Tenby in 2026 combines to perfection outstanding natural features and a bustling town centre packed with independent places to shop, browse, eat and drink. It’s a one-of-a-kind town which I will never get bored of.

Its history goes back centuries so you’ll find much of the town centre built around narrow streets and alleys surrounded by imposing medieval walls. There are plenty of places to stay, from hotels to bed and breakfasts or Airbnbs – and you should easily be able to find one within walking distance to most of the things you’ll need to visit.

You can split Tenby into four key elements: its beaches, its iconic seafront of colourful houses high above the sands, its busy town centre and the surrounding hinterland of Pembrokeshire.

Where else in Britain can you can easily access four different beaches on foot from a town centre within minutes? North and South Beach are large beaches with wide open spaces at low tide (and fun waves at high tide). At North Beach, a jagged rock rises from the sand and is great for exploring rock pools at low tide.

Between those two beaches are the smaller Harbour Beach, where you’ll find the town’s fleet of small fishing boats moored, and Castle Beach, which is sandwiched between two rocky outcrops, one of which is home to a distinctive clifftop fort.

Start with breakfast or a coffee and cake in one of the town centre cafes. There are lots to choose from, including the pretty Fuchsia and the Loafley Bakery and Deli. But my favourite is Stowaway, a truly unique spot. Tiny and built into an archway under one of Tenby’s famous seafront streets, right above the water, it does coffee and cake and is so cosy on a blustery day.

After breakfast, the best thing to do in Tenby if the weather permits is hit one of its four beaches. They are all within walking distance of the town centre and each other so if you fancy a change of scenery you can just walk to another one. Depending on the tides, some of the beaches break up into smaller sections and you can find yourself sitting on what feels like a private beach (keep an eye on the tide or you could get cut off, though there are stone steps leading up to safety in several areas).

For lunch, try fish and chips at one of Tenby’s excellent chippies, like Fecci’s or Pipers, or grab a lobster roll or crab sandwich from a small stand just above the harbour. Browse the many independent shops, selling books, clothes, art and homeware.

In the afternoon, take a boat trip to Caldey Island, where you can enjoy yet another beautiful (and pretty much empty) beach with near-white sand before exploring the gorgeous, peaceful island on foot. There’s an Italianate-style monastery built in 1906 and a 13th century church, as well as a largely unpopulated island to explore. You could easily spend an entire day on Caldey Island.

In the night, visit Tenby’s pubs and restaurants. Harbwr is a pub run by the brewery of the same name, serving good pub food alongside its own beers. The Hope and Anchor is a gastropub specialising in seafood, Tap and Tân cooks meat on open flames in front of you as you order and Top Joe’s does superb pizza. Plantagenet House is a more upmarket experience, serving scallops and lamb in a distinctive yellow restaurant hidden down a historic alley. There are plenty of other options, including Indian restaurants.

Tenby has a large number of hotels, BandBs and AirBnbs, many of which line Tenby’s famous clifftops looking out over the sea. One of the most remarkable in terms of its location is the Imperial Hotel which seems to defy physics in the way it rises from the rocks above the water. It literally could not be closer to the cliff edge. Many other hotels look out to sea from their high vantage point and if you walk along the seafront streets in the morning and look up you’ll see loads of guests staring out to sea from their bedroom.

You can also stay in one of the large 19th century houses that line Tenby’s skyline looking out to sea, like Whistler House, where the patio and glass-fronted balcony can surely lay claim to having one of the best balcony views in Britain. I’ve stayed here several times.

One of the great things about Tenby is that it is very compact, so even if you’re not lucky enough to bag a place with a sea view, you’ll never be too far away from the water. I have previously rented a small apartment on Booking.com away from the water for £270 for two nights and it took five minutes to walk from the door to the beach. There are also the standard chain hotels like Premier Inn or Travelodge and you can also try holidaycottages.co.uk.

Caldey Island is a truly remarkable place and one of Britain’s “holy islands”. There has been a monastic presence here for centuries, and their current home is a beautiful, white, Italianate-style monastery built in 1906. You’ll also find the 13th century St Illtyd’s Church. But the true joy of Caldey Island is to be found roaming from one end of the island to the other. En route you’ll pass horses grazing in fields and even a functioning chocolate factory, where you can buy a bar.

You can reach Caldey by boat from Tenby. There are regular departures to and from the island from Tenby’s harbour. You are dropped off at an empty beach of near-white sand that would not look out of place in the Caribbean – you may even have it all to yourself.

Just 15 minutes from Tenby by car is Folly Farm, another destination that’s evolved with the times to keep families entertained for hours. You can comfortably spend a day here and not see and do everything, which is exactly what I’ve done more than once with my children. Folly Farm has animals (ranging from lions, rhinos and penguins to goats, pigs and rabbits) and several excellent and well-maintained play areas both indoors and outdoors to keep children entertained for hours. Folly Farm also now has new accommodation, from luxury lodges (one overlooks the rhino compound!) to glamping, cottages and touring pitches.

Pembrokeshire is home to an unreasonable amount of beautiful beaches. Barafundle has recently been named the best in the UK and it’s not hard to see why. Whitesands, Freshwater East and Freshwater West can also all claim to be among the finest beaches in the UK.

You can walk to Barafundle from Bosherston, walking through gorgeous and peaceful lily ponds en route. Also nearby is the wild and exposed St Govan’s Head, home to one of the most remarkable features you’ll find anywhere on Britain’s coast: St Govan’s chapel, built into the very cliff face in the 13th or 14th century, with thunderous waves crashing below. Also in this corner of Pembrokeshire is the Stackpole nature reserve, while further north you’ll find the sparse beauty of the rolling Preseli Hills.

Pembrokeshire has a fascinating history so it’s dotted with man-made landmarks stretching back centuries. Among them are the Pentre Ifan burial chamber, which dates back to Neolithic (New Stone Age) times, when our ancestors buried their dead in tombs such as this. There are also several castles, including Carew Castle, which stands above the tidal waters where the Carew river meets the waters of the channel. Such is the tidal range here that you can see a vastly different picture depending on the time of day you visit.

The castle is great for exploring, the walls around the nearby tidal mill are amazing for crabbing. Just drop in your net and bait and you’re all but guaranteed to pull out a crab. There are two village pubs right next to the castle car park.