packed

It’s not just surviving but thriving.

Tucked away on the UK coast is a seaside town packed full of independent shops and surprises. In its golden heyday, the Victorian age, the Isle of Thanet (the easternmost part of Kent) was packed full of popular holiday resorts. Trend-conscious people like Charles Dickens, swapping the London smog for the revitalising sea air, took the train down to one of them: Broadstairs.

They were enchanted by its sweeping Viking Bay, named in honour of the AD449 Viking invasion of Britain. And with them, they brought riches which helped the small town construct rows of grand houses and an imperial seafront. Unlike many seaside towns hit by the mid-20th-century boom in cheap foreign holidays and the more recent spike in arcade-killing energy prices, Broadstairs is surviving in 2025. In fact, it’s thriving.

I ventured down to the town of 25,000 on a brutal November day to find out if it’s a place that shutters up as the stormy season rolls in and discovered that it has not only found a way to withstand the passage of time but also the winter.

Councillor Kristian Bright, cabinet member for tourism, met me in Salt cafe and explained part of Broadstairs’s success where he told me: “It is one of the only places in Thanet that has an independent high street like this. 15 Square Metres is a great restaurant run by MasterChef finalist Tony Rodd. We have Bar Ingo. I love to spend an evening in there. There’s Kebbells Seafood Bar as well. There’s just so many great places. In the winter, people come down and have a really special time.”

In a way many other coastal spots are not, Broadstairs is protected from brutal seasonal swings by its changing population. The launch of Southeastern’s high-speed rail line in 2009 drew the town a commutable ride from London, while the working from home shift of Covid ensured those down from the capital could stay full-time.

Palace Cinema owners Corinna Downing and her husband Simon Ward are among their number, and now benefit from the new demographic’s love of foreign film. “The notion of local and independent cinema, with its own character, has worked in our own favour,” she explained.

The Palace is the only independent cinema in the area and now draws in punters from across Thanet. Winter, particularly Oscars season, is their time to shine. When they’re not busy showing Imitation of Life and L’Atalante, the cinema is being hired out by members of the thriving local film society – on one recent occasion, for a raucous Austin Powers dress-up night.

Just down the seafront is another business that makes the Palace’s 60-year history look fleeting. Mario Morelli opened an ice cream parlour bearing his family’s name in 1932, and his descendants are still serving up impossibly big sundaes almost 100 years later. Morelli’s is a testament to the idea that if a business does things well and looks after its staff and customers, it will succeed. On the grimmest of midweek mornings, its sensationally big ice creams, waffles, and coffees drew in 30 punters.

Chris Chalklands, the former manager and now semi-retired parlour prince, has been working there for 53 years. He explained what makes Morelli’s so special. “It’s a family-run institution. It’s more of your community hub (in the winter) retreat. We go down about 50% in the winter, but our busiest day is Boxing Day. Everybody comes out for a walk. From 10 to five, it’s standing room only. Broadstairs has changed from a bed and breakfast holiday resort to an Airbnb. I love the atmosphere, community, and general population,” he said.

Hussein, who runs the Fish Inn on the High Street, swapped his home country of Turkey for Broadstairs 15 years ago. More than Morelli’s and The Palace, his business is impacted by the winter months. “It’s a nice place in the summer. I’m not sure about the winter when it’s rainy, but generally it’s good. It’s a nice beach, there’s no trouble. In winter, it’s cold, people don’t want to come out.”

While I was the only chip eater that Wednesday morning, that might’ve been because a gale was flinging rain and fish and chip signs down the road. Usually, a steady trade of students from a local language school and deliveries keeps the 34-year-old Fish Inn ticking over.

There are, of course, tensions in Broadstairs. As they tend to, DFLers have brought money and pushed up house prices. The average home now costs £409,441, according to Rightmove, while the average worker in Thanet takes home £29,312. The pull of its incredible beach and tidal pool during the summer means there is a significant drop-off in tourism in the winter, which can be challenging for businesses.

But these issues seem relatively small and manageable. The council recently introduced a second-home tax, which saw Broadstairs property prices fall by the highest amount of anywhere in the UK last year. Add to that a high street packed with independent shops, and off-season events such as the Blues Bash and Food Festival, and the future prospects of this little coastal gem seem very strong.

Narberth in Pembrokeshire is home to some of Wales’ best independent stores – and they can all be found on one high street.

This special little town and its charms are both well-known enough for it to thrive but still well enough off the beaten path to feel like a hidden gem that’s not overwhelmed with tourism.

Not on a main road and often overlooked in favour of nearby seaside resorts, this Pembrokeshire town is packed with independent shops and boutiques, cosy pubs and outstanding restaurants. And there are no chain shops or empty lots to be seen.

While heading west for a short break, I called in to eat at a place called Hwb for the first time and found so much more, including some of Wales’ finest restaurants to pubs, local butchers, antique shops, clothing boutiques, bridal stores and hair salons.

In addition to these, there’s the “Quirky Garage,” which sells an array of knick-knacks, with a particular focus on oversized animal models; there’s an arts centre; a community-run library situated in a quaint old school; a social club where pints are a steal at £3.10; another arts centre; and “The Shop at No47”, self-described as “quite possibly Pembrokeshire’s most perfectly pleasant place to peruse”.

On the high street, I saw a sign on a lamppost announcing an upcoming “hymns and Pimms” night at the local church. The former town hall of Narberth, crowned with a clock tower and a petite steeple, stands solitary on a traffic island at one end of the high street, with stone steps leading up to its entrance.

Today, it houses The Golden Sheaf, a shop selling chic clothes, books, home furnishings and jewellery, but the building itself harks back to the 1830s. It was built on the site of an old tap where townsfolk would gather for their water supply.

Its original clock, until very recently, was wound weekly by a town council member, following the same meticulous instructions from over a century ago.

The area, however, is not all quaint and quirky boutiques. Just beyond the town centre lies the opulent Grove, a breathtakingly exclusive hotel and restaurant offering food, rooms and surroundings that rival anything Wales has to offer.

It’s a bit pricey, with rooms starting at around £250 a night, suites exceeding £500, and a seven-course tasting menu in its flagship restaurant setting you back £145 per person. Even amongst all of Wales’ most picturesque and intriguing towns, Narberth holds its own.

Locals describe it as “an effervescent little place with a robust sense of community” and say those who reside here “live for the lifestyle”. This becomes immediately apparent upon reaching the bustling high street at its core, which teems with people perusing shop windows and popping in and out of stores even during a Tuesday lunchtime.

The sheer amount of activity in the town centre contradicts its modest 3,000 population. Calling it a hidden gem might be stretching things within Wales, where it frequently earns recognition as the finest place to reside, yet it remains relatively unknown throughout the UK.

I cannot state precisely how many independent retailers and enterprises it boasts, but approximately 50 appears a reasonable estimate from wandering about. However, the high street isn’t all that Narberth offers.

The moment you venture beyond the town’s boundaries, you discover yourself within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, amongst the UK’s most spectacular locations and home to breathtaking coastlines, the Preseli hills and other magnificent towns such as Tenby and Saundersfoot, both within easy reach of Narberth (and both considerably more renowned, possibly due to their seaside attractions).

‘It’s not like this by accident’

“When I was growing up here in the 90s, there were a few basic shops on the high street and around 20 grizzled old pubs,” says Beth Alexander, who grew up in the town. Writing on the Visit Wales website, she adds: “But the town had an arts scene bursting forth that brought all sorts of live music and performance to this small Welsh town.

“They say that the arts are a great regenerator, and you can see this played out in Narberth. Today it is an effervescent little place with a robust sense of community, a thriving high street packed with independent shops and cafes, and a full calendar of events.”

Chris Lees-Price, who founded Hwb, has previously told WalesOnline: “The community here likes to protect local businesses by using them, and there’s a real pride in the town because you see how hard people have had to work to make things happen and to make Narberth this way. It’s not by accident.”

It’s a sentiment echoed time and again by residents and business owners throughout the area. Tragically, there aren’t many towns like Narberth remaining, with countless others across Britain having fallen victim to mounting pressures, including the collapse of high street retail and the dominance of chain stores (the sole chain visible in Narberth was a Spar).

The national vacancy rate for high street premises throughout Britain stands at approximately 13.8%. I didn’t spot a single vacant shop in Narberth. The closure of the nearby Oakwood theme park this year, after decades of thrilling schoolchildren with its rides, might have cast a shadow over the town, but it doesn’t seem to have had much of an impact.

It would be a different story if the nearby Bluestone Wales holiday park were to close, but thankfully, there’s no sign of that. Many visitors to Bluestone visit Narberth for a day of shopping and eating.

Where to eat in Narberth

Let’s start with Hwb, which was a delightful surprise. I loved it so much that within days of my first visit, I took two one-hour-long detours to eat there on subsequent family days out.

The independent food and drinks hall is housed in an old Victorian school at one end of the high street. There are four food vendors – selling burgers, Thai food, tacos and Indian street food respectively – and three of the four I’ve tried so far are fantastic.

I sampled an onion bhaji naan wrap that was bigger than my head but still managed to feel light and vibrant instead of heavy and greasy, and a halloumi and pineapple taco that was packed full of flavour. The fries from Top Beef burgers are among the best I’ve had, and my kids raved about them.

There’s also a bar featuring 18 draft beers and cider taps, in scenes more akin to Shoreditch than rural west Wales. Equally impressive is Plum Vanilla Cafe, another cafe-deli hybrid dishing up flavour-packed vegetarian grub like falafel flatbreads, Korean rice bowls featuring battered cauliflower, plus heaps of cakes.

There’s also Top Joe’s delivering “absolutely incredible” pizzas, calzones and antipasti alongside cocktails, plus Stopio, a cycling cafe.

For fine dining, there’s Annwn, which secured a spot among the Good Food Guide’s 20 finest restaurants in the UK in 2022 after just 12 months of trading.

It’s also earned recognition from the Michelin guide, with a 10-course tasting menu priced at £150. Then there’s Fernery at The Grove hotel, offering a seven-course tasting menu for £145.

As you can see, it’s a remarkably impressive array of dining spots for a small town housing just a few thousand residents. You’ll discover far fewer choices in much larger towns.

Activities around Narberth

It’s not just within Narberth itself that you’ll discover plenty to occupy your time. The town sits amid the stunning Pembrokeshire countryside and coastline. World-class beaches lie nearby at Pendine, Tenby and Saundersfoot. The brilliant family destination Folly Farm offers enough entertainment for an entire day, combining multiple play zones with wildlife including lions, giraffes and rhinos. The dramatic and striking castles of Carew and Manorbier are also just a brief drive away.

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