A week of concerts, talks, exhibitions and a sandcastle competition, in the quiet fortnight after the summer ends.
Tenby empties in the second half of September and then fills up again for this, which is a different crowd entirely. The festival has run for decades and is put together by volunteers, and its programme is a proper spread: classical and choral concerts in the churches, jazz, drama, talks on local history and natural history, guided walks, art exhibitions and events for children.
The venues are the town: St Mary's Church, the De Valence, the museum on the headland, church halls and galleries, all within a five-minute walk of each other inside the medieval walls. You can do three events in a day without moving a car.
The sandcastle competition on the beach is the one that gets photographed, and it is taken more seriously than you would think.
Why late September works. The weather in Pembrokeshire is often better in late September than in August, the sea is at its warmest all year, the beaches are wide open, and accommodation drops out of peak pricing. Castle Beach, South Beach and the boat to Caldey are all still running and all quiet.
The honest bit. It follows hard on the heels of Ironman, so if you want a quiet Tenby, check which week you are booking. And some events are in small halls with limited seating — the popular talks go early, and turning up on the day does not always work.
Programmes are published in advance; check the festival's own listings for this year.
A long-running town arts festival: concerts, talks, exhibitions, walks, drama and children's events in venues around Tenby, plus the sandcastle competition on the beach.
Tickets are sold locally as well as online; smaller venues sell out.
Before you plan around this
Dates change every year — check with the organiser before you travel
We don't sell tickets and take no commission on any of these — links go straight to whoever runs it.
Accommodation books up around the bigger events — Tenby especially.
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