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Our Tenby Island

Volunteers fight to reawaken a forgotten Welsh island. As storm clouds gather, personal stories, a gull called Meep and a cannon collide in a powerful tale of hope and survival.

On the Pembrokeshire coast, shrouded in sea mist and memories, lies St Catherine’s Island: a tidal fortress with a chequered past and an uncertain future. Once a 19th-century fortification, later a stately home known for its wild parties and most famously a seaside zoo in the 1970s, the island has been closed to the public for decades. Now, a small band of passionate volunteers are bringing it back to life and inviting the people of Tenby to rediscover it.

This intimate and moving documentary follows the team as they prepare for an open day that could determine the island’s future. Leading the charge is Andi Jones, a local volunteer whose fierce dedication to the island is rooted in something deeper. As he unearths forgotten stories and reunites those who once lived or worked on the island, Andi also reveals his own, a personal journey through mental health struggles that the island helped him weather. He oversees the return of a huge naval cannon to its former position, a powerful symbol of restoration and pride. Joining Andi is Charlie Love, a musician and volunteer who found healing on the island after overcoming addiction. Her connection to the island’s wildlife, especially Meep, a fiercely territorial seagull she befriended as a chick, gives the story a unique and touching twist. Now, as Meep tends to her own eggs, Charlie is recording a song inspired by the island’s rebirth.

As open day arrives, hope and history collide, but a violent storm threatens to plunge the event into darkness. When the generator fails and the old fort loses power, Andi’s months of hard work hang in the balance. A story of memory, resilience, and belonging, this film is more than a celebration of a historic landmark, it’s a tribute to the people fighting to preserve it and the lives it’s helped rebuild.

Release date:

28 minutes

On TV

Tuesday 19:00

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Credits

Role Contributor
Editor Rhys Hafod
Production Manager William Gruffydd Edwards
Producer Connie Fisher
Executive Producer Tim Green
Production Company Pixie Productions

Broadcasts