The eastern side of the seafront, far from noisy attractions in the west, has a relaxing atmosphere preferred perhaps by older residents and visitors.
Below: Sandhills that used to be at the east end of the beach. Eventually these were removed by Flintshire council. Some observers felt sad to see this natural part of the landscape disappear.
The following snapshot of an unknown family is dated 1929 and has East Parade in the background. Love the cloche hats - I do wish they would come back into fashion!
Click on any picture to see a bigger version.
Spaces on eastern prom for exercise on bowling greens and tennis courts shown below, and there was swimming at The Baths (see under the label SWIMMING on your left near top of this page).
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This rare pre-WW2 item shows the Sportsland amusement arcade in East Parade, near to High Street. The picture came from Peter Trehearn; the arcade was run by his maternal grandfather (his mum's dad) Bernard Bestwick who also had an arcade in Barmouth.
Mr. Bestwick's other business in Rhyl included the Joyland amusement arcade in Queen Street, and silver plating factories in Bedford Street and off Vale Road. Here is a photo of him from Peter's collection:
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The postcard below shows the prom east of the pier just as I remember it as a kid in early 1950s. On your left are chalets that were for hire if you preferred a little more privacy by the seaside - and could afford it.
Below from Rhyl History Club is an image showing the Floral Hall being built at the end of the 1950s, and from my own collection a later image of the gardens outside what was - by then - the Royal Floral Hall.
These postcards of the Rock Gardens and hotels in East Parade including the Westminster have a 1960s/70s period charm:
You know I would end with a donkeys picture, didn't you?
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These references are added here for indexing purposes: Marine Drive, super speedway.
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Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk
Don't forget my YouTube channel featuring Rhyl videos and slideshows. The channel is named RhylTime. Click here to see RhylTime's Top Ten:
Don't forget my YouTube channel featuring Rhyl videos and slideshows. The channel is named RhylTime. Click here to see RhylTime's Top Ten:
Only YouTube items labelled RhylTime are mine.
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