Landlords heaved a sigh of relief as customers returned in their masses to Penarth's pubs as indoor hospitality reopened yesterday.

Join Nub News on a journalistic pub crawl, where we spoke to publicans and their regulars about this long-awaited return to normality.

First stop: Pier and Piano

This Windsor Road venue is Penarth's newest pub, replacing the old RAFA club in just August 2020.

It is also one of relatively few with a large beer garden, meaning it reopened for outdoor drinking on 26 April. Pub landlord Kyle Rowbotham says he regrets choosing to do so.

"We opened because we were one of the very few big beer gardens in Penarth," he explained. "But with the weather not being on our side, it was shocking in fairness.

"Over the three weeks we took what we were taking over a weekend last August. In hindsight, we should have just opened on the 17th. We definitely lost money and went into the overdraft."

By the time we arrived at 1pm, a smattering of regulars were drinking and chatting alongside a socially distanced wake. Kyle is confident his business will recover.

"I'd imagine it will bounce back," he said. "People are still thirsty for drinking. We can get a fair few inside, so hopefully when it's sunny the customers sat outside can come inside if it rains if there's space. It's going to be a logistical nightmare though."

St Fagan's

It has been an immensely difficult year for the Rees family.

In July 2020, Gareth, Natasha and their two young boys were given four weeks to sort out their affairs and vacate The Station in Cogan - the pub that had been their home and workplace for three "perfect years."

Then, just three weeks after pouring their first pint at St Fagan's, their new home, the Welsh Government imposed a ban on serving alcohol.

In a further stroke of misfortune, lockdown was imposed on 28 December, meaning St Fagan's had been closed for over six months until yesterday.

But yesterday evening, those dark days felt like a distant memory. At roughly half past five, St Fagan's Castle was full of smiling customers.

"It's fantastic, brilliant," Natasha told Nub News. "It's just nice to see people and faces. Everyone's happy.

"It feels like we haven't been away. It just feels like we're back to normal.

"The bar's been full all day and then from 4 o'clock everyone's been coming into the lounge. I haven't got any seats left."

They even received a visit from the environmental health officer, who Natasha says was satisfied with the social distancing measures in place.

The Albion

Back in January, Mark Pearson, who runs The Albion on Glebe Street, posted the following on social media:

"Due to the lockdown I'm unable to open and so able to work.

"If anybody on this site is looking for a driver/handyman I would appreciate opportunity to be considered."

Prior to his time at The Albion, Mark owned a construction and scaffolding company that traded for twenty years. His post received a remarkable 143 shares on social media.

His popularity was on show last night. Mark was clearly as happy to see his customers as they were to see him.

He told Nub News that he wanted to devote all his energy to his returning regulars, and politely declined an interview.

One of such customers, however, took time to tell us why he was so eager to return.

"Because it's open," he joked. "It's just the atmosphere, the culture. There's something about it that you don't get at home. It's ingrained in us."

Clive Arms

Last on our whistle stop tour was the Clive Arms on John Street, Penarth's oldest pub.

Although the landlord battled to strictly maintain social distancing and, it was also comfortably Penarth's most vibrant pub last night.

The landlord was clearly too bogged down with policing revellers and cleaning to be troubled with an interview. But we did manage to speak with returning regular Richard Brace.

"I've been coming to the Clive since I was eight or nine years of age. You come here to socialise and have a laugh with a drink, and it's great to be back."