Narberth B&Bs

More About B&Bs in Narberth

Elton John played his first headline show in Wales at the Queen’s Hall here, in 1970. The hall still puts on music, comedy and theatre through the year. The Golden Sheaf Gallery at number 25 sells work by Welsh makers a few doors along.

The beaches at Amroth and Saundersfoot are both under ten miles off, and Tenby is ten miles south. Almost nowhere in Pembrokeshire is much more than an hour away by road. The high street climbs a hill the whole way, and the view from the top goes for miles.

Narberth has been up and down more than once. By 1603 it had lost its market and very nearly its reason to exist, one of nine Pembrokeshire boroughs recorded as decayed. Coming back took the best part of three centuries, and it happened on the same single street the town had always had.

The town hall went up around 1833, in rubble stone quarried at Robeston Wathen. It was designed to be a courthouse and a lock-up in one building, which is why it is the biggest thing on the street and sits where you cannot miss it.

The magistrates gave up the first-floor courtroom before that century was out. The room turned into a mechanics’ institute, a working men’s club for reading and evening classes, with a library in it. A clock tower was added in 1881, and the clock came from J. W. Benson, a London clockmaker.

Narberth is a walking town rather than a driving one. The Queen’s Hall, the Golden Sheaf Gallery and the town hall all stand within two hundred yards of one another. You can see the lot on foot, and the hill is the only hard part. In 2017 Narberth was named among the best places to live in Wales, and a walk along the High Street shows why.

The Golden Sheaf keeps a second shop, Pembrokeshire Living, inside the town hall, so you can see both in one walk. Welsh makers fill the pair of them, from pottery through to prints. Neither is a chain, and almost nothing on this street is.

Food is why Narberth has a name beyond its own county. The restaurants and delis all sit within the same few hundred yards. You can eat well here without moving the car once you have arrived.

In late September the Food Festival fills Townsmoor car park with food stalls, live music, street theatre and chef demonstrations. There is a licensed bar, and free activities for children.