County was not prepared

From the archive, first published Thursday 4th May 2006.

dear editor - West Wales' AM Nick Bourne was quoted in the Western Telegraph on April 26th as saying that dualling the A40 "will have an important and beneficial effect on tourism."

During the week starting April 3rd, the English schools' Easter holidays, I was invited to host a group of more than 30 visitors. We found the tourist information centre closed at Saundersfoot, public toilets closed at Broad Haven south and Nolton Haven, car parks and lay bys blocked by road surfacing equipment in Fishguard and Goodwick, road resurfacing and traffic lights in abundance, with four sets between Fishguard and Eglwyswrw, leaflets giving details of `comfort stops' on the coastal path unavailable, various cafes and fast food outlets closed and public houses which are normally open all day not opening until 4pm. Added to this the amount of litter, dog fouling and broken seats on Marine Walk, Fishguard was not something of which I could be proud when showing off the county to the visitors. All this begs the question, does Pembrokeshire really want tourists? What is the point of improving road links to west Wales only to find that much of Pembrokeshire is closed when the rest of the UK seems to be on holiday?

Derek Rowland Penmynydd Uchaf Dinas Cross Newport

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