Town in Denbighshire, Wales
Rhyl
Rhyl's tiny railway has been chugging along since 1911, in a seaside town the Victorians built for day-trippers from Lancashire and beyond.
Key information
- County
- Denbighshire
- Nation
- Wales
- Known for
- Victorian seaside resort, miniature railway, Sky Tower, promenade
- Football clubs
- CPD Y Rhyl 1879, successor to the original Rhyl FC (the Lilywhites), plays at Belle Vue
About Rhyl
The railway that shrank
Rhyl's miniature railway dates from 1911 and runs on 15-inch gauge track beside the Marine Lake. It is often named the oldest line of its size anywhere in the world. The little trains were built for fun rather than freight, which suits a town that has spent well over a century selling fun. Generations of children have taken a first train ride here at barely walking pace. The lake itself is another seaside staple, a sheltered stretch of water for boats and paddling right on the edge of the town.
How the train made a town
Until the middle of the 19th century Rhyl was a modest place on the sands. Then the Chester and Holyhead Railway arrived in 1848, and everything changed. Factory towns in Lancashire and the Midlands were suddenly a few hours away. Day-trippers and holidaymakers poured out of the carriages, and Rhyl grew into one of the great resorts of the North Wales coast. Boarding houses, hotels, a long promenade and a pier followed. The pier opened in 1867 and was a centrepiece of the seafront for over a century before it was pulled down.
Sky Tower, sands and sea-front sights
The Sky Tower is the town's most recognisable landmark, a former observation ride on the promenade that is visible from far along the coast. It closed to passengers in 2010 and now serves as an illuminated beacon. Behind the front, the Pavilion Theatre and the Events Arena have hosted shows, concerts and pantomimes. The wide, flat beach is the town's great natural asset, with sunsets over the Irish Sea that locals will happily tell you about. The Ocean Beach funfair was once the great noisy neighbour of the promenade, a classic of the old-style British seaside, before it closed in 2007. Its rides and arcades live on in many a family photo album.
A harbour, a river and 30 turbines
Rhyl sits where the River Clwyd reaches the sea, and Foryd Harbour at the western end of the town is where boats still tie up and where an opening footbridge crosses the water. Out in Liverpool Bay, the view has changed in modern times. North Hoyle, switched on in 2003, was the UK's first major offshore wind farm, with 30 turbines. Rhyl Flats, with 25 turbines, followed further out. So a town that built its fortune on steam and coal-fired holidays now looks out on some of Britain's pioneering green power.
Lilywhites at Belle Vue
The original Rhyl FC, known as the Lilywhites, were founded in 1879 and played at Belle Vue, close to the town centre. They were one of Welsh football's more successful names, winning Welsh league titles and the Welsh Cup, and played in European competition. The club dissolved in April 2020. Its successor, CPD Y Rhyl 1879, was founded that year and carries on at Belle Vue. So a modest seaside town has a football team whose forebears travelled abroad to play continental opposition.
Chips, candyfloss and Welsh pride
Eating in Rhyl means doing things properly: fish and chips from the promenade, ice cream on the sea wall and sticks of rock for the journey home. Fresh seafood from nearby waters turns up on local menus. The Welsh name is Y Rhyl, and Welsh is part of daily life here, even if the holiday trade made the town feel as much of Lancashire as of Wales for a hundred years. That mix of cultures, and the fact that so many people arrived for a week and fell in love with the place, is part of what gives the town its character.