JEWEL READY TO SHINE AGAIN
EACH year, around two-anda-half million people visit Tenby. It is a teeming, bustling small town that sits high above the sea. Young and old, they flock here – around one a half million of whom stay in and around Tenby, with more than 50% of those coming from outside Wales.
Even the journey upon arrival is a golden one: along the Esplanade, underneath the ancient castle walls, through the imperfect beauty of Frog Street, and down a bottlenecking main square which effortlessly draws people towards the tranquillity of the harbour and the majesty of the UK’s best beach.
Every walk through Tenby is accompanied by the nostalgic solace of a seagull’s chirp, the smell of chips and the colour of dinghies, towels and other beach paraphernalia which adorn the exterior of shops that, even if you have no intention of buying anything, seldom fail in seducing you inside.
Each year, Ironmen and women descend on the town and vault it from serene seaside haven to a venue befitting one of the biggest events in the Welsh calendar.
Each year, until 2020, when coronavirus arrived on these shores, towing a crippling lockdown behind it.
Tenby is, arguably – probably – the most iconic holiday destination in Wales. It has a character far greater than its size, thanks in part to its reliance on independent shops and businesses which make it distinctive.
When you walk around many towns and cities in Wales and throughout the UK, particularly through their centres, you could be anywhere. The chains and the brands loom large, and while they provide comfort – not to mention jobs and a vital kick to the economy – they also contribute to the ubiquitous feel of everyday life.
Tenby feels different. It has chains, but they don’t dominate the landscape; they support local shops that have stood on cobbled streets for generations. They don’t take centre stage, which is reserved for independent pubs, hotels, book stores, restaurants and shops that sell rock and other goods which belong to an age long gone. It is these parts of Tenby that linger within.
But if we all miss Tenby, think of how Tenby misses us.
Delmon Fecci is the owner of the famous Fecci & Sons chip shop, a staple of Tenby life since the 1930s. He remembers that last weekend before lockdown was announced.
“We were quite shocked because we were incredibly busy,” said Mr Fecci.
“We were trying to marshal customers inside the shop but some were not listening, so we had a meeting after that with the staff and we decided ourselves to close, before lockdown was announced.
“We were so busy, and the businessman in me thought ‘ oh this is brilliant’ but the person in me thought ‘this is wrong’. We were wary of people’s well-being; we could see what was coming.”
In the weeks that followed, Delmon and his brother Charles Fecci had to furlough all their staff and watch on as the tropical weather shone on Tenby and her empty streets. They’ve had support from the bank and from the Welsh Government, but the reality of lost income has not hammered home yet, despite a resumption of trade at the end of May with limitedhours reopening.
“Looking at it now, our turnover for the last two weeks, we would normally do in one day,” admitted Mr Fecci. “That’s the reality of it.”
Things are already very different at Fecci’s, and they may be for some time. Only one customer is allowed into the chippy at one time, and there are protective screens in place at the entrance, the counter and at the food collection point (near a different entrance to what was the restaurant side of the business) – where customers pick up their purchase having placed an order and been given a number.
“We’re looking at the community side of things as well; it’s about feeding people, not just about making money,” said Mr Fecci. “We try different things and we have to evolve with this: if something doesn’t quite work then we change it – you have to be adaptable.”
The surreal summer sight of a deserted Tenby may be alien to Mr Fecci, but it has at least allowed him to stop and stare for the first time in half a century.
“I’ve worked here about 50 years and in all that time I never had any bank holidays off!” he laughed.
“So it’s not been unpleasant. I’ve been able to enjoy the scenery and the beaches, things that I am normally too busy to enjoy. But it’s like Christmas Eve here every night – you know that something is coming pretty soon but it’s not here yet. But it’s certainly different here. It’s strange.”
Strange in a good way, said Mr Fecci, who thinks the quiet and deserted beaches here are a healthy sign, compared to images seen in England. He admits that the Ironman Wales event – which was called off earlier this week – always represents a “monster weekend for us”, but said it was the right call, undoubtedly, to cancel it.
Another reason for Tenby’s nationwide allure is the countless number of pubs that sit within a five-minute walking distance of each other, not to mention the bars inside most of the town’s hotels. This has helped establish Tenby’s usual roaring trade, making it a favourite for stag and hen parties.
Ross Barnes joined in partnership with Michael Evans in March to run the Buccaneer Inn, one of the town’s most well-known pubs. Weeks into his reign, he shut up shop.
“Mike’s had this place for about 25 years and I came on board in March to run the day-to-day side of it,” said Mr Barnes, who before this had run another pub in neighbouring Saundersfoot.
“So I was here on that Friday night and we had the TV on when Boris Johnson advised all pubs to close. We had been waiting for an announcement at that point, and then it came, and that was that. From the day after that you had this eerie feel around the town. I had to keep coming in to take care of a few things and shut things down, and I remember seeing just a few people milling about.
“It was very strange at that point. I just remember feeling that something was out to get you. It’s progressed since then and you see more people out and about, but I’ll never forget that initial feeling in the town.”
To start with, Mr Barnes said there was a palpable “anti-tourism” sentiment in Pembrokeshire, one that has weakened slightly as the weeks progressed and people had begun to yearn for normality. They want their pubs back, in short. They want their Tenby back.
“We receive lots of messages on social media asking when we’ll be reopening. We have no idea is the truthful answer. It could be July. It could be November.”
Whenever it is, it won’t be the Buccaneer Inn that locals and visitors remember, not to start with at least. No pub will be the same. Ten members of staff “out front” will have to become five, 100 food covers will have to become 50, and “all hands to the beer pumps” will become one person behind the bar.
The hope here – and it is only a hope – is that, before summer’s end, pubs will be able to reopen, at least in some guise. As a seasonal town, the pessimist might see the timing of that as unfortunate, unless, of course, winter can act as the (admittedly colder) summer that we never had.
“We are normally very, very busy over the summer months, and then much, much quieter in November, January and February, but this year it might be different,” hopes Mr Barnes.
“If people can’t or won’t go abroad they will want to come to Tenby. It all depends on the situation we find ourselves in, on the guidelines at the time, and on how many people are allowed into the pub.”
Despite the optimism in Mr Barnes’ voice, it’s easy to feel dejected when a landlord is left with only hope when asked if his pub will serve pints of beer before Christmas. Unfathomable, unprecedented, unpredictable. Whatever it is, it hurts, and the bravery to suppress concern for livelihoods is commendable, but that concern must reside somewhere.
As well as pubs, one of the hardest hit sectors of the tourism industry has been hotels. Without any guests – or money – coming through the door since March, they are fighting to survive, and many can currently be found on their knees, praying for an end to the storm which put them there.
One of the town’s most famous hotels – the Imperial – will not be reopening after the company behind it went into administration on May 22.
Another of Tenby’s icons, perched bang in the middle of the Esplanade, is the Atlantic Hotel. It is an independent business owned and run by Bill James and his children, Andrew James and Nicky Rees. It has not qualified for any grant support, but remains afloat.
“Like the rest of the world, it is a very difficult and unusual time for us all,” admitted Mrs Rees, the hotel’s general manager.
“It’s been heartbreaking to see the
We receive lots of messages on social media asking when we’ll be reopening
ROSS BARNES
town and beaches deserted throughout the last three Bank Holidays, especially with the beautiful weather we have had. However, everyone’s safety is the main consideration and, as a town, we are proud – this shows that people have been adhering to the guidelines.
“Having said that, as a popular seaside destination, Tenby as a whole relies on tourism to survive. We need to be given the opportunity, as soon as possible, with the relevant measures in place, to begin to rebuild our businesses.
“Unfortunately, other landmark hotels in Tenby have already been unable to survive this crisis, resulting in the loss of a great many local jobs.”
Like Mr Barnes at the Buccaneer Inn, Mrs Rees is holding out hope that a possible reluctance to travel overseas will provide Tenby with a shot in the arm come the winter months.
For some, however, the horizon of November, January or February does not exist. Angus Dunlop owns and runs Tenby Boat Trips. His company trades solely between Easter and the last day of October, and in 2020 the company’s loss has been absolute: they have earned £0, and lost tens of thousands of pounds compared to previous years.
“We make the vast majority of our money over the school summer holidays,” said Mr Dunlop, who runs cruises and safari boat trips out into the Atlantic Ocean and around the islands of Caldey and St Margaret’s.
“We are 100% down on income compared to last year. We have not made a penny, and we’re waiting with bated breath for the next lockdown announcements from the Welsh Government.
“We must strike a balance between a pressing need to generate income so that we can service our debts and the thought of encouraging people to come to Tenby, potentially bringing the virus with them. But, as safely as possible, the show must go on. To lockdown indefinitely would be unfair.”
As well as rate relief, the support on offer from the Welsh Government includes a £25,000 grant for businesses with a rateable value between £12,001 and £51,000, and a £10,000 grant for businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.
Some businesses in Pembrokeshire have not been eligible for these grants. Mr Dunlop is, and has benefited from one, but he admits that the money has already “gone up in smoke”.
“It evaporates so quickly with costs,” he said. “My insurance bill pretty much eats that up straight off the bat.”
The road to what life was like in 2019 is scarcely visible at the moment, but according to Mr Dunlop, one key decision which could reignite the prospects of relative prosperity is the altering of that all important social distancing guideline. Namely, halving the distance from two metres to one metre, a distance deemed safe by the World Health Organisation.
“If that guidance is changed then we double the amount of people we can safely get on our boats,” he explained. “It would give us a fighting chance. It’s about common sense, too – keeping groups apart and making sure everything is clean. I would like to think that we, as businesses, would be trusted and, more to the point, I think the general public need to be trusted. I think people would pull others up on it if they were not adhering to those guidelines.
“Opening back up with the twometre rule would save our bacon, but a one-metre rule would be a gamechanger. Our business, while still limited, would be viable again.
“I feel particularly sorry for businesses who have not been able to access any support. From our point of view we have received funding and it’s been a big help, but others are worse off.
“As for us, at the moment we’re in the middle of our second winter in a row, with a third coming up later in the year. By the time we get to Easter next year we could be staring down the barrel of who knows what?”
Of all the alluring independent businesses in Tenby, one that perhaps resonates with locals and tourists the most is Equinox, the beautifully quaint two-floor gift shop that sells just about everything and has done for 40 years.
Victoria Randall and her husband David have owned it for 16 of those years.
“We’re obviously hoping that nonessential shops can re-open soon,” said Mrs Randall.
“Even with the five-mile travel guidance, we have local customers down here in Tenby that we want to serve again, but we really need that guidance to be relaxed as well at some point, otherwise we’re not going to make much money this year.”
As for re-opening, Equinox is ready to go. “We’ve put screens in place on both floors and we have two-metre boxes laid out on the floor so that people can continue to social distance,” explained Mrs Randall.
“There is a great deal of apprehension here, not just for us but for everyone. I do think, however, that Pembrokeshire as a whole is a county that people can enjoy responsibly in these times – by that I mean there is enough space for people to enjoy it while maintaining social distancing.”
Equinox is another business that has received a Welsh Government grant, and according to Pembrokeshire council, it has already paid out £42.5m across the county under that scheme, and new applications – which are still being accepted up until June 30 – are being received on a daily basis.
“The importance of the tourism industry cannot be overstated and we are doing everything we can to support tourism businesses at what are very difficult and uncertain times,” said Paul Miller, cabinet member for tourism at Pembrokeshire council, which has received around 4,300 grant applications to date.
“Although these are tough times right now, Pembrokeshire’s incredible beauty and its fantastic offerings for tourists will still be here when we can once again welcome visitors.”
Tenby is and will be key to that. The jewel in Pembrokeshire’s crown, it will have as good a chance of survival as any. But in many ways, what makes it wonderful is also what puts it under threat: the independent shops and businesses, without a resource reserve from elsewhere, give this town its wow factor.
If they die, the town of Tenby dies with them. But die it won’t, for the appetite of thousands of people to return is too strong. We will be back, and Tenby will be back.
As Welsh painter Augustus John once said about his hometown: “You may travel the world over but you will find nowhere more beautiful; it is so restful, so colourful and so unspoilt.”
He was right. Nothing can spoil Tenby. Not even coronavirus.
We are 100% down on income compared to last year
ANGUS DUNLOP