Since my optimistic post Covid visit in 2021, it feels like Rhyl has hit upon very hard times. Following storm damage to it’s roof the new Sun Centre (SC2) has been closed since last June. the Seaquarium has gone , as has the cinema. The innovative Skyflyer attraction never opened and ongoing sea defence works has turned the seafront into a building site. On top of all this the much hyped new market hasn’t even opened yet. Labelled Britain’s “worst seaside town” last year, hopes were not high for this visit.

“Seek assistance” says the message on the barrier as my ticket is rejected. The member of staff lets me through without a word. Welcome to Rhyl! Outside a ghostly message in the window of a closed down shop says “Find me on Facebook”. The same streets which the Victorian hordes of years ago would have walked on the way to the sunny beach and pier.

Signage on the front of another closed down shop trails the Council’s aim of delivering the “Rhyl town centre vision” talking of a “modern distinctive seaside town”. These particular buildings have been boarded up with the same promotional messaging for several years now. Having a browse of this on the Denbighshire county council it all feels like it’s a generation away. As the old Rhyl is closed or bulldozed what is the “new Rhyl?”. Perhaps its the “new eat in” option at Pound Bakery, or the slightly sinister graffiti in a side street, featuring a giant skull and a crude swirling face.. The Rhyl vision is available here : https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/community-and-living/regeneration/rhyl/vision/rhyl-town-centre-vision-eight-big-ideas.aspx

A visit a charity shop in an art deco building, formerly a theatre visited by The Beatles is an early positive. Browsing the racks of defunct physical media I select a Susan Boyle’s 2014 awkwardly titled “Hope”. This will be going straight back to a charity shop as it contains not a single decent song- a contrast to her 2011 album which contained a moving version of “Mad World”. Still 50p for a CD is cheaper than a download of one song. I also find two phone cases with my separate initials on them: the magic of the seaside.

The high street itself feels a lot more upbeat than I expected despite the out of date adverts for Christmas events, and the signage to attractions that no longer exist. The bleakest row of 3 empty shops features a closed down Costa, masking tape partially covering the sign. Opposite that WHSmiths faces the final curtain, another retailer gone and one which ever high street could potentially lose in the months to come. Back in 2008 a business closing down had a novelty feel, with fixtures and fittings being sold 0ff- back home I purchased a chair from their staff room and a shopping basket. Since then we’ve had chain after chain fall as the world constricts and everyone shrinks into their phone led lives. “All cards are 50p today!” says a member of staff in the mainly empty shop. How will the property owners fill this when even a chain coffee shop has quit the town- Costa having moved to Marina Quay, the dreaded out of town development that has so heavily impacted our high streets.

Empty Rhyl BID branded flower planters are a further sadness. The Rhyl BID served one five year term from 2019 and then decided not to ballot for a second term, in yet another loss to the town. There’s no BID, but I wonder if there is a Rhyl version of me, championing what’s left of the town. Is there a Rhyl Izzy Grey or a Rhyl Nub news?

I get a warm welcome in Discount World, and I’m the only shopper in Shoe Zone. The recently sold White Rose Centre is home to TED’s a store that sells out of date food, complaining how the UK has been “brainwashed” into excess food wastage. Seems like a fair concept but I turn down a 5 month out of life Orangina and a year out of date father’s day cake mix. The rest of the centre, despite recent bad Facebook comments seems perfectly fine, with a branch of The Works and “You Know Who’s” for discount fashion. Despite the signs on the door advising patrons to close the doors to keep pigeons out, 2 of them make it inside.

This way to the sea.. and when you get there there’s nothing. The fenced over Vue cinema, the scaffolded sun centre and the non existent Seaquarium. A feature on the promenade since 1992 it closed in November 2023 with all the animals relocated to other aquariums. It’s loss is another reason gone for families to come to Rhyl. The only remaining shining light is the Pavillion Theatre, which continues to attract equal or greater attractions to Storyhouse.

Despite the completion of the new Queen’s Market it hasn’t opened yet. From the outside it resembles a giant shed and images of the interior look like a prison. This was supposed to be a key part of Rhyl’s revival, yet its opening has been delayed whilst the council found an operator. A recent press report states that the Market will be open 7 days a week from 10-8 which seems bizarre, failing to serve the evening economy and making it effectively useless as a night time venue. Will the people of Rhyl come out and support this, will it be enough on it’s own to draw back visitors?

Trolling barricades in front of the flattened Seaquarium proudly declare that the beach is open.. then another arrow declares “nearest beach access”. The building work on the seafront is perhaps a short term pain for the essential sea defence works, has turned the town’s unique feature into a hard to access construction site- parts of the seafront are closed until the autumn! I gave up in the end, finding only a small patch of sand as the rain and wind took hold of the day. My hat is nearly blown away, and my nose is running but it quickly freezes on my face.

A visit to the café in The Range provides shelter from the storm. A sausage roll and a cup of tea whilst reading an article about the rise of authoritarianism, whilst checking my phone for Valentine’s day press releases.

I head back through the side streets- looking a lot better than previous visits. It’s certainly better than parts of Blackpool , where boarded up former hotels and guest houses have a post apocalyptic feel. Next up is the best shop in town, Plastic crack collectables where, after a long browsing session I purchase a boxed Lego Pirates set from 1989. In the cover of the old KFC on Wellington street I look up TripAdvisor reviews for Sidoli’s the café opposite.

The positive reviews and the warm glow coming from inside draws me in for the final stop of the day. The café/ice cream parlour was opened over 100 years ago and inside feels like stepping back in time with the staff wearing smart white coats and a cup of coffee costing an amazing £1.32! It is brilliant in here. I sit in the corner as a group of 3 ladies happily chat away by the window. It’s a brilliant end to this visit , another part of the magic of the old Rhyl that has clung on through the decades. I feel bittersweet wondering how long this precious jewel will continue here, as times change and the old Rhyl fades. Most of the old Rhyl has gone and its going to take a lot of work to bring back the good times here.