Tenby's post-lockdown blues have seen it drop from being 'the UK’s second best place to live' to a new ranking of 17th.

According to independent buying agents Garrington Property Finder, Tenby went down 15 places in its annual league table - but it still sits proudly in the top 20.

The table ranks nearly 1,400 cities, town and villages across England and Wales, which have been accredited according to four critical criteria – natural beauty, architectural beauty, quality of life and environmental credentials.

The environmental category is new for 2022 and scores each area on how many energy-efficient homes and cycle lanes it has, as well as the availability of public charging points for electric vehicles.

And according to Garrington researchers, it’s the ‘green’ category which has shaken up last year’s pecking order.  Only six of last year’s top 20 have made it into the class of 2022 which explains Tenby’s drop to 17th position. 

The town’s natural beauty credentials remain strong, thanks to Tenby’s close proximity to open water, the National Park Authority and areas of outstanding natural beauty while it’s architectural beauty is awarded for the number of listed and period homes found within her confines.

The ‘quality of life’ category is based on the air quality, the latest crime figures, the accessibility by public transport and the proportion of properties which have access to outside space.

The assessment also includes the average cost of a family house. The price for Tenby currently stands at £461,600.

What makes Tenby’s 2022 position even harder to swallow, however, is that fact that it has been overtaken in the league table by cross-border rival Kidwelly, which has been placed in a healthy fifth position.

The town has been lauded in the analysis for its jaw-dropping Norman castle and the nearby sandy beaches surrounding Carmarthen Bay. 

Kidwelly is also one of the five towns and cities to reach the top 20 where a typical family home costs under £350,000; the average price of a family home in Kidwelly is just £202,196.

Top of the 2022 league table was Bath.