Beautiful UK town once ‘the best’ now living in shadow of huge failed tourist attraction

Narberth, a charming small town with a population of just over 3,000, is bustling with activity as locals and visitors alike explore its high street, independent shops, cafes, butchers, bakeries, and other delightful offerings. The town’s compact size and close-knit community are part of its charm – you’re never more than two minutes away from anywhere, and everyone knows everyone.

However, this corner of Pembrokeshire relies heavily on one thing: tourism. Despite having a population of around 125,000 – roughly half that of Swansea – the county attracts millions of visitors each year.

According to a report by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, there were 6.6 million visits in 2022 alone. However, the recent announcement that Oakwood – Wales’ largest theme park located just five miles from Narberth – would not reopen for the 2025 season has sent shockwaves through the community.

The park’s owners, Aspro Parks, admitted that it was no longer financially viable to operate and maintain the once-popular family attraction, reports

Since its opening in 1987, Oakwood was a major attraction, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually during its heyday. People flocked from all corners of Pembrokeshire, Wales and the UK to experience the park

While there’s been a general agreement that Oakwood’s golden era has passed, the closure of one of Pembrokeshire’s most iconic landmarks has undoubtedly left a sense of melancholy. Oakwood held significant importance in this region, and it would be rare to find someone in Wales who hadn’t visited.

Mark Richards, co-owner of Useful and Beautiful Things, an antique shop in central Narberth, and a local born and raised in Pembrokeshire, reminisced about Oakwood’s inauguration. He expressed his sorrow, saying: “It’s sad. I know a lot of people who have worked there and the employment side of it is really the loss.”

Despite the closure, Mr Richards remains hopeful that businesses like his won’t be affected as Narberth attracts visitors for various reasons. He said: “We are so lucky in Pembrokeshire to have so much – things like Folly Farm and Heatherton (World of Activities) – and what I found was that people tended to go to Oakwood and spend the day there rather than come into Narberth. Bluestone [Resort] is different. If that closed it would be a huge blow because people stay there and then travel here, which is the nearest town, and it’s thriving.”

What’s the magic behind Narberth’s charm?

“I don’t know what makes it so great,” said Mr Richards, reflecting on the loyalty of customers who frequented his shop years ago and continue to return. “People want to come back to Narberth. It’s full of small independent shops and people like wandering around.”

However, Narberth wasn’t always the trendy hotspot it is today. Nowadays, strolling through its streets gives you the sense of being in a fashionable, lively, and contemporary town, resilient against the challenges that plague high streets nationwide in an era dominated by online shopping.

“Back in the ’70s and ’80s it was quite a rundown market town,” Mr Richards recalled. “It had a lot of pubs and it was a rough old place. A gallery opened in the high street (The Golden Sheaf Gallery, open since 1992) and that seemed to start the ball rolling. It’s all changed for the better now.”

Just across the way, near the town’s clock tower, lies Fire and Ice, a craft bottle shop that never fails to impress with its extensive selection of artisan ciders, spirits, and craft ales. And let’s not forget the ice cream – so scrumptious that in 2023, the Guardian named the shop one of their ’10 great places to eat ice-cream in the UK’.

Owner Ivan Wilson has just returned from holiday to the shocking news of Oakwood’s closure. Having worked at the theme park over 20 years ago, capturing thrill-seekers’ experiences on the iconic Vertigo ride, his primary concern is for the employees who will be left jobless, particularly young people and students who rely on summer work to pay off student debts.

“People are going to be without jobs this summer,” he expressed. “The park employed a lot of young people and students and if you have student debts you need that summer work. I don’t know what impact it will have on Narberth itself. A lot of Oakwood’s visitors were on day trips so I don’t think we will miss out from a trade point of view in town.”

Although he believes Narberth’s trade won’t be significantly impacted, as many Oakwood visitors were day-trippers, Wilson is worried about the broader implications for Pembrokeshire’s tourism industry.

“Have the dynamics changed?” he pondered. “What has Pembrokeshire got apart from tourism?” Wilson also discussed the complexities surrounding council tax rates on second homes, currently set at a 200% premium, which will decrease to 150% from April.

He noted that this has driven away people who previously spent money in the area, affecting local economies. Furthermore, Wilson expressed concerns about the potential introduction of a tourism tax in the coming years and its impact on towns like Narberth.

“It’s hard work running an independent shop in Narberth at the moment with all the increases we are having to deal with,” said Mr Wilson. “It’s just the two of us here [at Fire and Ice] so we are lucky that we don’t have to employ anyone else. I would have concerns if I worked in hospitality.”

Just a stone’s throw from Oakwood, Kevin Hart, who operates The Snooty Fox — a pub, restaurant, campsite, and events venue — does work in hospitality. From his car park, one can spot some of the rides and, usually, the rushing carriages of Megafobia would be audible in the upcoming months.

“It’s been going downhill for a while,” Mr Hart commented. “Our camping guests, who would stroll over to Oakwood, often reported many closed rides. People say it’s declined over the years, but I believe [the closure] will impact us.

“Thankfully we get a lot of trade from Bluestone because people stay there for a few days and like to go out and about and explore the area so we get a lot of them coming here for food. It would be nice if Bluestone could buy [Oakwood] and do something with it. If it had been kept up it could have been brilliant so we are still hopeful that someone could take it over and bring it back to what it once was. It’s dwindled off in the last few years so the closure is not a surprise but there are a lot of other facilities [in this area] and there’s still a lot of things to draw people.”

In the quaint town of Narberth, Victoria James, proprietor of the chic Rock n Rolla retro clothing boutique, acknowledges that the loss of a significant tourist draw like Oakwood Theme Park is indeed a “major blow”. Yet, she remains optimistic about the town’s resilience, believing it won’t suffer from the closure.

She explains: “Narberth draws people because it’s a bustling, vibrant market town with a lot of independent shops – that’s what makes it unique. Narberth is quite busy now but it gets busier at the start of the holiday letting season. I think Oakwood was a destination in itself so I don’t think it will have a big effect on the town.”

The Wales Tourism Allowance has voiced concerns, labelling the situation as “just the tip of the iceberg for Welsh tourism”. While the full repercussions of Oakwood’s shutdown are yet to be determined and may require several summer seasons to fully grasp, the community of Narberth remains hopeful.

They believe their charming town and picturesque county possess ample allure to withstand this latest challenge.