The little UK market town ‘so pretty’ locals don’t get why it’s not flooded with tourists

Kenilworth has made slow progress in its development despite being home to a huge tourist attraction. Locals have enjoyed seeing the market in Warwickshire grow over the past few years, but most think it still needs more.

While not everyone is happy about the increased amount of coffee shops and brunch restaurants in the area, for the most part, these updates are welcomed by residents.

The town’s castle is home to many visitors from both around the country and around the world but residents recognise the tourism from the castle never quite seems to make it to the town – and they can’t understand why.

Judy Brook, owner of , which has been in the area for 56 years, is also hoping to see increased tourism to the area. She told Express.co.uk: “All the chains seem to be leaving the highstreet, but it’s great to see independent businesses like coffee shops, restaurants, and little independent shops which are perfect for small town centres like ours.

“I think there’s always people who have different opinions on what’s happening here and I definitely would like to see more tourism here, but not everyone would. There is a bit of a feeling sometimes that there’s too many coffee shops in Kenilworth, but actually I love it and they’re always full.

“October is quite a busy month for the and we generally see things picking up around Christmas, so we really only get busy around September. It’s a shame that we haven’t linked the town up a little bit more because actually the castle is a huge tourist attraction. But I think a lot of people go to the castle, park up, have a lovely look around, go to an event, have a lovely day, but don’t ever see the rest of the town.”

With a  feel in the town, residents are surprised to see that there is not much tourism in the summer months.

Resident Pauline Simmons said she wants more to visit the area, she said: “Well we’re working hard on that, all of us that live here. As you can see we’ve got more coffee shops, restaurants, things are building up.”

She said a local Facebook group called ‘Kenilworth Vibes’ is where residents share their thoughts on developments in the area. As a regular poster, Pauline said: “I’m one of the people who thinks, the more things they put in Kenilworth, coffee shops, restaurants, the better.”

Pauline pointed to a new restaurant which had previously been an empty building and spoke of the controversy when its opening was announced.

In her opinion, she said: “The more the merrier – more restaurants, more coffee shops would be great – it’ll bring the tourists in. And it has – that restaurant is always packed.”

The retiree said most people would welcome tourists to the area, noting that the castle always has lots of events that people are keen to attend such as jousting and activities for children.