Tenby, Wales - Day 3

Tuesday, June 10

The weather forecast was predicting rain so we decided to visit St.Catherine's Island before the rain and while the tide was out so we could access it. We had to get an early start (for us anyway) and walked into town and on to the island. There was a guide who gave us the history of the island and it's fortifications. It began with a fort in the 19th century to combat the threat of the French, and then was used during both world wars with the addition of some modern guns. At various times the island was privately owned and the fort used as a home/castle and even a zoo in the 1960s and 1970s! The island has only been re-opened to the public since November last year but due to the poor condition of the bridge leading to the fort, it will not be open for a few more months.

The dilapidated bridge to the old fort on St.Catherine's island

Next on the list was the Tenby museum which is the oldest independent museum in Wales having been established in 1878. It is located on Castle Hill and is situated in part of a medieval castle so it has fantastic views and the content was fascinating too. It covered life in the Tenby area over the years and included collections on geology and archaeology from prehistory to the Roman-British period. A DVD, "The Story of Tenby", traced the history of the town from the 9th century to the present day. It has been a major seaside resort for over 150 years due to its many attractions. There was also a section on famous people from the area including writers like Roald Dahl and Dylan Thomas, artists like Augustus and Gwen John, John Piper, David Jones, EJ Head and Nina Hamnett and had works by them on permanent exhibition along with those of some more recent artists.

Also in the Castle Hill area was the old RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) building which has now been converted into a private home and was featured on the TV show "Grand Designs". The new RNLI replacement building is a really interesting design and houses the latest class of lifeboat - the most modern currently available. We were fortunate to see the volunteers winching it down the slipway. This is done every day, weather permitting, to ensure the boat and slipway winch are always ready for any emergency that may arise. The boat is only winched as far as the front door and then back again but when there's a real emergency it can be launched in 7 seconds and be on its way!

Old RNLI building (1905 - 2006)

New RNLI building

Testing the slipway winch

Following a late lunch after another big English/Welsh breakfast, and with the sun shining instead of the predicted rain, we set off to visit a merchant's house, dated around 1500 and from the Tudor era. It has been restored by the National Trust and is run by them. The Trust has had period furniture built so it is hardy enough to sit on, touch, open etc. rather than the original furnishings that would be too fragile and in other places, is usually roped off. They have decorated the house exactly as it would have been in Tudor times and made it a very hands on experience so you really get the feel of what life would have been like back then.

This morning as we walked past a nearby church we saw a sign advertising a concert by the Pembroke and District Male Voice Choir to be held there tonight so, after dinner, we headed out to see them and found the predicted rain had started falling. Fortunately it was only light but once we got inside the church, it teemed. The concert was fabulous - their voices sounded great, the selection of songs really good and there were a number of solo items including one by a 93 year old. The MC was very amusing and all in all it was a great night out.

Concert in St.Johns church in Tenby

 

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