This smart Pembrokeshire market town is thick with Celtic heritage. In Wales’s earliest collection of prose tales, The Mabinogion, the hero – Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed – holds his legendary court at Narberth, and meets his love interest Rhiannon there. Narberth also grew around the ruins of a castle that dates to the 13th century, which were renovated and opened to the public in 2006.
Located 21 miles west of Carmarthen and 11 miles east of Haverfordwest, Narberth’s easily strollable, brightly painted centre demands lengthy exploration, with its highly regarded independent shops and restaurants prizing originality and craftsmanship. For more, see visitpembrokeshire.com.
Narberth is served by train every two hours from Swansea, an hour and 25 minutes away. The same services also call at Carmarthen, Tenby and Pembroke Dock for ferry connections to Rosslare in Ireland. You can stroll from one end of town to the other in a few minutes, but you’ll need your own wheels to see attractions beyond.
The area’s standout lodgings are at Grove of Narberth, two miles south-west. Sequestered within an extensive estate, this country hotel-cum-fine-dining experience lets you choose between rooms in the main house, dating to the 1680s, or cottages scattered throughout the grounds. There are two restaurants: the more informal Artisan Brasserie and fine-dining venue Fernery, both of which champion regional Welsh produce, including many items grown in its own kitchen garden. B&B from £250, accessible room available.
A more central option is 15-room Plas Hyfryd Hotel, a short walk from Narberth high street B&B from £120, accessible room available.
Looking around the independent boutiques and galleries is a favourite pastime here. Start at the bottom of the high street with the thought-provoking artwork at Oriel Q gallery (closed Sun–Tues), a part of the local arts scene for two decades.
Revel in the local Welsh arts and crafts in Golden Sheaf Gallery or plump for a more consumable gift at Fire & Ice, a bottle shop vending an immense selection of Wales-produced booze, including class local acts Still Wild gin and Barti rum, with a cool sideline in divine handcrafted ice cream (often made with the aforementioned alcohol).
Narberth Museum’s bookshop, Chapter One, has one of Pembrokeshire’s best selections of local and Welsh-interest books.
Five miles east of Narberth is Pembrokeshire’s premier winemaker. At Velfrey Vineyard, you can have a tasting of some of its excellent wines, such as the sharp, and low intervention, Naturiol or the rich and nuanced sparkling Velfrey NV, for £5, and factor in a vineyard tour for a further £10, before buying your bottle of choice.
Grab a sweet morning treat from artisan bakery Rock’n’Dough (Wed–Sat, 7am–2pm). Alternatively, at Narberth Museum, adjacent to its bookshop, is a homely café. Bright and welcoming Plumvanilla Café, specialising in vegetarian food, is another solid option.
Any visit to Narberth should factor in a trip to the museum, at the lower end of town in a refurbished former alcohol storage warehouse. You enter through the bookshop, then head upstairs to an array of exhibits unpicking Narberth’s past. These include a Mabinogion woodland glade, colourfully recounting the seminal text’s storyline, and an interactive game explaining medieval siege warfare.
The Queen’s Hall, a long-established music venue, hosts a gamut of events by day and night, from live music and comedy sessions to thought-provoking talks and wellbeing events.
The Angel, an 18th-century coaching inn at the top of the high street, is the best for a snug fireside drink.
At the bottom of the high street, The Star might not have a fire, but is a highly regarded micropub with a cosy wine bar atmosphere, regular live music and old-fashioned ethos of prioritising punters chatting to each other rather than gawping at big-screen sports.
Bridging the gap between café and restaurant in Narberth is delightful Ultracomida (10am–5pm Mon–Thu, 9am–10pm Fri/Sat), which takes its culinary cues from Spain. Salivate over the cured meats, fishes, cheeses and other goodies in the deli before advancing to the tapas bar at the back to feast on the likes of mojama agridulce – air-dried tuna with vine tomatoes, goat’s cheese and almonds.
A high-end stop is forager extraordinaire Matt Powell’s Annwn restaurant (dinner 7.30pm Thurs–Sun) where the 10-course set menu hosts elaborate concoctions, foraged where possible, such as a hen of the woods, acorn and hazelnut sauce to accompany venison, or chocolate cockle shells garnished with sea buckthorn. Annwn offer regular foraging experiences too for £70 per person. Reserve well in advance.
Across the road, Top Joe’s (open daily for lunch and dinner) is an Italian restaurant with mouthwatering pizza.
Meanwhile, it’s obligatory while in Narberth to indulge at Hwb (11am–1pm Mon–Thu, until 11pm Fri/Sat ,until 5pm Sun), a Victorian schoolhouse turned street-food venue, where Top Beef (burgers), Grub (taco specialists), Tikka G (Indian street food) and Bee’s Thai Kitchen operate under one roof, alongside a bar stocked with Tenby Brew Co beers.
All that, of course, is assuming The Grove’s restaurants are by now on your radar.
If it has been dry, you might fancy the eight-mile out-and-back walk to 13th-century fortified house and fortress Llawhaden Castle, tracing winsome streamside and riverside paths. The walk starts from the car park next to Hwb.
1) Elton John and Status Quo are among the acts to have performed at Narberth’s Queen’s Hall.
2) It is twinned with the Shropshire town of Ludlow; both have an annual food festival.
3) The town was a centre of action during the Rebecca Riots (1839-1843), when men from West Wales disguised themselves as women to attack the loathed tollgates on the region’s rural roads.
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