I stayed in Roald Dahl’s quaint beachfront holiday home – I can see why he returned every year

WITH its stunning views, fresh seafood, pristine beaches, impressive cliff-top walks and countless fishing, adventure and boat trip options, it’s easy to see what drew Roald Dahl and his family to Tenby. 

And after a break in the cottage right on the harbour wall where the Charlie And The Chocolate Factory author stayed as a young boy, you can understand why they returned year after year. 

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Dahl, who created characters Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka, holidayed at The Cabin from 1920 to 1936, as the blue plaque on the building testifies. 

Now a cosy holiday apartment sleeping up to six, available through Coastal Cottages, it offers amazing views from every single window, with the old harbour, beach and pretty terraces on one side and Carmarthen Bay on the other. 

I’d have been more than happy to sit and watch the tides coming in and out for the whole weekend, but with three energetic sons, I made do with a quiet coffee first thing in the morning looking out to sea. 

The apartment’s tiny balcony enjoys the sunshine for most of the day and provided the perfect spot for a sundowner whilst watching the kids play on the beach below.

The three bedrooms are cosy and comfortable and the kitchen is really well equipped. We loved the quirky way that all rooms, apart from the bathrooms, interconnected — it made for plenty of fun walking around and around trying to find someone, while they did the same. 

Tenby itself is in west Wales on the Pembrokeshire coast, just a little bit further on from Swansea. 

After a relatively pain-free journey, we parked up and explored everywhere on foot. 

Tenby itself is a busy town with some lovely pubs, restaurants, independent shops and cafes. It boasts four beaches, an impressive lifeboat house, an old fort and is encircled by a medieval wall. 

Whether you are after adventure, sightseeing, good food or simply want to enjoy the beach, Tenby really is a little gem. After unpacking our 10,000 bags, we took a beach stroll, paddling in the gentle waves. 

There wasn’t a crumb left on anyone’s plates and, after all the packing and unpacking admin, it was a welcome treat to have such tasty dishes prepared for the whole family

There was more excitement than usual as dinner had been prepared by Coastal Cottages’ A La Carte (created by local chef Ben Gobbi) and all we had to do was warm up the delicious dishes. 

They provide an impressive menu and you can choose up to two different meals per group. For starters, we picked smoked salmon and the lamb bon bons, and Atlantic cod with basil mash and beef brisket with dauphinoise potatoes. 

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There wasn’t a crumb left on anyone’s plates and, after all the packing and unpacking admin, it was a welcome treat to have such tasty dishes prepared for the whole family. 

After dinner, we wandered down to the beach for a bit of cricket and football, which quickly became our end of the day routine. 

Time for adventure

Normally we are a lot more adventurous on our holidays, but with our eldest studying for GCSEs, we stayed very local for the entire weekend. 

Happily, there were more than enough activities to keep everyone occupied. Our first full day was spent mostly on the harbour walls crabbing, where the boys were determined to get a catch to eat.

Several tiddlers on, we finally managed to drag them away with the promise of an ice cream. 

Determined to have a little more adventure on our final full day, we booked a mackerel fishing trip — after more crabbing, of course. 

And perhaps we should have stuck to the crabbing because we didn’t catch a thing out at sea. 

Still, it was such a beautiful day to admire the Pembrokeshire coastline. 

We hunted for winkles and carried them home and boiled them and got them out of their shells with bent pins and put them on bread and butter for tea

On our final evening, we went for a decent curry at The Bay of Bengal in the town centre and enjoyed watching the last rays stretching out over the sands. 

After eating, there was just enough time for one last game of beach football, and the kids ran rings around us in the failing light. 

Roald himself was enchanted with our holiday location. “We adored Tenby,” he wrote. “We had donkey rides on the beach and long walks with the dogs along the cliffs opposite Caldey Island, and there were primroses everywhere. 

“We hunted for winkles and carried them home and boiled them and got them out of their shells with bent pins and put them on bread and butter for tea.” 

It’s easy to see why he returned year after year. 

We’re already looking to book again next year. 

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