Tenby Town Walls

Grade I-listed medieval walls encircling the old town

The thick medieval walls that wrap the old town are the most complete in Wales, and the best way to feel Tenby's age. Built in the late 13th century and reinforced over the following two hundred years, they originally enclosed the entire town with five gateways. The best-preserved section runs along South Parade, ending in the Five Arches — a curved barbican gate that survives almost untouched.

A loop of the walls on foot takes about twenty minutes and is the easiest way to orient yourself before exploring the lanes inside. Information boards along the route explain how the walls were used and where the missing towers and gates once stood.

things to do sight architecture
A story
After Tenby was sacked by the Welsh in the 1260s and again in 1457, the local merchants paid for the walls to be strengthened — the most striking surviving stretch, the Five Arches barbican, was a money-saving design that let a small garrison defend a wide gate with a single archer.