Survive in the modern era?
by people from outside.”
This explains why this village can retain its sense of togetherness, despite having a proportion of its properties empty once the sun goes into hibernation.
Spot said: “When some- thing happens to one of us everyone rallies together. It’s like going back to the 1950s.”
Spot helped to set up a gallery in the village in June where local people can showcase their own work.
“We set it up because there was nowhere for local people to sell things from,” said Spot. “There’s about seven or eight of us who chip in, and people can pay £5 to have their things on display, then when someone fancies it and buys it, the artist keeps all the money.”
So who are the non-local locals – the people who own second homes in Llangrannog?
“We don’t live here but we want to support the community as much as possible,” says Phil Thomas, who is originally from Kent.
Phil is sat outside his cottage in Llangrannog with his wife Sue. They live in Cheltenham, except, that is, when they get the chance to live in Llangrannog.
“My wife has the connec- tion with west Wales. She’s from Cardigan originally so she wanted to buy a place here. We bought the cottage in 2008 and we come here every three weeks or so. We might not live here but we want to support the community as much as possible.
“It’s just a beautiful part of the world. At peak times everyone agrees that it becomes too crushed and some people do say, when the summer finishes, that, ‘We’ve got our village back’.”
Llangrannog is thriving. It’s busy enough in the summer so that it doesn’t have to be busy in the winter. Every beachside haven in Wales must face the same issues. You want to share it with other people, but you also want it for yourself.
It means tourism feeds its community and allows it to breathe, but it doesn’t puncture it and render it feeble.
That community is stronger than ever and the people won’t let that go. Not yet.