Our first working Holiday in Tenby

I’ve not done a working holiday before.  I feel like it should have been more dramatic.. like sheep sheering in the Australian outback or building a school for deaf children in South America.  Instead it was trying to predict what would sell on the website and trying to pack it all in the back of my VW Golf for two weeks in Tenby.  I’m sure Jeff Bezos has to do the same at Amazon.

It has been a tricky year with lockdowns and when October came we decided we needed to get away.  As an NHS worker it was the first time I was able to take annual leave.  With the borders closed and a foreign holiday looking unlikely we decided to go closer to home.  We both love Wales and after some Google-fu headed for the bright lights of Tenby.

What’s the WIFI password?

Our pad for 2 weeks

We like to have our own place and space when we go on holiday so usually try and find an AirBnB or Homeaway.  This time we found a great local company called FBM Holidays, which seem to own about 90% of the properties in Tenby (Not sure how the locals feel about that) .  We found a lovely looking house called Penlan which cost about £500 a week.  It had 3 big bedrooms, wifi, bunk beds for kids and would be perfect for a family in summer.. or a couple of Brummies running an online embroidery business.

It was bigger than what we needed really, but meant we had a lounge/office for Gemma to be on video calls with The Coven ladies while I drink tea and watch back to back episodes of Great British Railway Journeys in the other living room.  It was also handy for the Sainsburys in Tenby and the post office which was a big bonus when sending out all of your orders!

A trip to the Tenby Post Office to send out orders

It was quite an old house, but immaculately clean and very cosy.  The floorboards creaked at night with the rattling central heating and for the first few nights we were convinced there was someone walking around upstairs whilst we were in bed.  Unfortunately there are no cool ghost stories to tell.  It was just a creaky old house.

Have we got any more flamingo yarn bowls

The weather was not great, but we expected that when we booked a holiday to South Wales in October.  After a long summer of lockdowns and long work days it was nice to blow the cobwebs off with a bit of Pembrokeshire fresh air.  We would spend the mornings relaxing and checking the website and etsy shop for sales overnight.  We would then check our travelling stock levels and occasionally have to take trips back to the car to get more Yarn bowls or neon yellow embroidery thread (was particularly popular at the time).  It was fun being away from home and still being able to run the business and send out your orders.

The staff in the local post office were great.  I think it was the first time somebody has started posting “flamingo yarn bowls” out of Tenby post office as the staff were very interested in what we were selling and wanted to know about the website and business.  Shout out to Tenby Post Office!

Tenby is a great town to just walk around.  The views are stunning and there lots of little lanes to explore that either end up at a lovely view of the harbour, one of the two beaches or a very conveniently placed pub.  With restrictions in-place for social distancing it was sometimes tricky to get into places as they were booked in advance, but most places were very friendly and well organised.

Tom’s Top Tenby Tips

Best pub in Tenby

• The Hope & Anchor – A great put down towards the harbour.  Lots of local beers from harbwr brewery, which is right around the corner.  The staff were always friendly and there were times we couldn’t get into pubs in town because of pre-bookings, but always managed to get a table and some great food at this place.

Best food in Tenby

• The Hope & Anchor – The fish tacos I had here were amazing.  Also if you ask for chips… you get A LOT OF CHIPS.
• Roly’s Fudge – Not really into fudge, but Gemma liked this local shop.  The chap also used to give her extra fudge if I waited outside.
• Pembrokeshire Pasty and Pie – We had a pastie from here that was excellent.  It’s not cheap – but very good quality.

Things to do

• Try the coastal path – We walked a small part of the coastal path from Tenby down to Saundersfoot and it was really worth the effort.  It is quite steep and muddy in parts. but if you have some good walking boots and a packet of sweets you should be fine.  We planned to walk there and back in one day, but we set out a bit late and got the bus back instead.

The day we left Tenby was the same day Wales introduced their countrywide lockdown.  As we drove home we noticed the Police starting to setup stops to check people on the main road into Tenby.  It was sad to think it might be a while before we are able to come back to Wales… but we will!  It was the type of holiday that you find yourself looking in the window of the local estate agents and wondering.  Thanks Tenby!