Favourite place when you have some time off?

We have been visiting Tenby for 14 years since our daughter Rachael was born. It is a traditional, unspoiled seaside resort of award-winning golden beaches, rock pools, buckets and spades, ice-creams and boat trips. We never tire of it.

The nearer I get to Tenby the more I relax. It’s called Dinbych Y Pysgod - “little fish of the fort” and is still a working harbour.

In the winter the boats are raised out of the water for repairs, in the summer they bob in the picturesque harbour. The charming Georgian town nestles within historic medieval castle walls.

When’s a good time to come?

In summertime, for fireworks in the harbour, cafe culture - tables and chairs spill on to Tenby’s pavements and traffic-free roads - but you can still find an empty stretch of beach.

At Tenby Arts Festival in September children are catered for with parades, sand sculpture competitions and kite flying.

Visit in wintertime for deserted beaches and wild seas, the Boxing Day swim and new year celebrations with fireworks.

Lunchtime treats

Try the sausage shop menu at the historic Plantagenet House Restaurant - make sure that you see the Flemish chimney and take time to visit the adjoining Tudor Merchant’s House which is run by The National Trust. Nana’s Italian restaurant has superb views over the harbour.

Afternoon treats

Buy crab sandwiches to take away and eat in the harbour and follow with dessert from one of the ice-cream parlours.

Evening delights

The Blue Ball restaurant (www.theblueballrestaurant.co.uk) in cobbled Upper Frog Street.

Don’t miss

A boat trip to Caldey Island: its quiet atmosphere and peaceful surroundings are so different from the mainland.

Cistercian monks live a simple life of farming, producing chocolate and perfume, which are sold in the Caldey Island shop. Stop for tea on the green, visit the churches and monastery (men only) and then take a picnic up to the lighthouse - you may be lucky to see seals sunbathing on the rocks below.

At Tenby’s lifeboat station, ask the children to spot the resident ginger cat.

Remember to bring

Raincoats and windbreaks for the beach - it is a typical British resort - but also pack your walking shoes. Tenby is situated along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, which has some of the most breathtaking scenery in Wales

Find out more

www.visitpembrokeshire.com, www.visitwales.co.uk, www.pembrokeshirecoast.org