After spending WAY too much time chatting to Jake on MSN, some coaster whorishness rubbed off and I decided to go to a few of the North Wales coast “parks” today. It’s actually stupid that I haven’t been before, since they’re actually the closest CREDZZZ!!! to WreckScum, but for some strange reason they’ve just never appealed.
Anyway, I jumped on the train to the delightful, Victorian seaside resort of Rhyl, which took an hour because the train SPITEFULLY (there’s Jake’s influence again. I have to stop talking to him) goes out of the way to Chester first.
Some interesting facts about Rhyl? It’s where John Prescott got an egg thrown at him, responding by punching the man, who threw said egg, in the face. Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be hanged, was born here. Lovable serial killer Peter Moore used to live here. In fact, he stabbed one his victims to death on the beach just up the road, near Knightly’s Amusements, which we’ll have the pleasure of visiting later!
I hadn’t actually been to Rhyl since I was about 12 or 13, when it had already started going to ****, but used to really, really like it as a young kid. I know it’s easy to romanticise the past, but I honestly think it was a much, much nicer place back in the ‘80s.
Anyway, there’s been a bit of effort to make the place look decent.
But it’s blatantly not nearly enough, as evidenced by the absolute state of some areas of the promenade.
In terms of coasters, according to RCDB there was a kiddy coaster around here until last year, but not here now. I was just interested to just have a bit of a look around though to be honest, and see what had changed in the area.
The Sky Tower is still there, though it doesn’t rotate anymore.
I didn’t go on it, but planned to later before I left. This didn’t happen either, but we’ll get to that. When the tide is out, there’s actually a huge stretch of beach here. Not a nice beach, granted.
Children’s Village amusement park is right next to the tower.
And the CRED is actually still here!
I’m guessing that someone had been here in the off season and all the rides were packed away somewhere. Anyway, I rode the crappy thing and felt very guilty as I AM NOT A CREDIT WHORE!
This thing has been here for ever. 20 years at least since I can remember it from when I used to come here as a kid. I contemplated going in it, but didn’t.
I decided to walk along the coast to Towyn, where two small parks are located. Here’s the old site of Ocean Beach, on the far west side of the beach, which appears to have had nothing done to it since the rides were removed about 3 years ago.
Looking back into gorgeous Rhyl:
After walking for about twenty minutes or so, you can spot the next park, William’s Amusements.
It has a big apple and a Pinfari something or other.
I gave the big apple a go first. ‘Twas alright as far as big apples go.
Both coasters cost 3 tokens (or a quid fifty) each. There were wristbands available, of which, after viewing the other “attractions” on offer, I declined to partake.
There was a scrambler and some waltzers as well, but I didn’t take any pictures of those because I was already getting strange looks.
The Pinfari was hilariously bad.
There was only one car running on it, which looked ridiculous.
I enjoyed some witty repartee with the unsmiling ride op while I waited for the troglodyte-filled car to return to the station.
Ride op: Ya need two people mate.
Me: The woman in the booth said it was ok (a cunning lie on my part)
Ride op: Oh. Right then.
It was pretty rubbish really, yet quite funny. The seats wobbled and didn’t feel as if they were connected to the car properly, and it was really crawling around the corners between the drops.
I then left to head to the other park in the area, Knightly’s Funfair, which is about a ten-minute walk away. I was hungry. In Towyn the food options consisted of chips, chips, chips, thick-cut fried potato, chips, or there was this cleverly-named restaurant:
I had chips.
The approach to Knightly’s is stunningly beautiful.
With some excellent themeing in someone’s front garden.
You have to cross a railway track to get to the actual park, but what a treat once you’ve made the effort!
The only coaster here is a Zamperla Dragon.
I count powered coasters. I count clones, I’ve ridden loads of these. I rode this one, too.
Some other stuff…
Just behind the park, you get a lovely view of a wind farm and access to the beach where Anthony Davies was brutally stabbed to death by that cheeky chappy we heard of earlier, Peter Moore.
There are also some lovely views over the Towyn cityscape, where you can look back, with fond memories, on William’s Amusements.
After this I just got a bus (2 quid fifty! Robbing bastards!) back into Rhyl. I had planned to go on the sky tower before I left, but the bus drops off right at the train station, and the next train out of there was leaving 5 minutes later, which, needless to say, I was on.
Anyway, I jumped on the train to the delightful, Victorian seaside resort of Rhyl, which took an hour because the train SPITEFULLY (there’s Jake’s influence again. I have to stop talking to him) goes out of the way to Chester first.
Some interesting facts about Rhyl? It’s where John Prescott got an egg thrown at him, responding by punching the man, who threw said egg, in the face. Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be hanged, was born here. Lovable serial killer Peter Moore used to live here. In fact, he stabbed one his victims to death on the beach just up the road, near Knightly’s Amusements, which we’ll have the pleasure of visiting later!
I hadn’t actually been to Rhyl since I was about 12 or 13, when it had already started going to ****, but used to really, really like it as a young kid. I know it’s easy to romanticise the past, but I honestly think it was a much, much nicer place back in the ‘80s.
Anyway, there’s been a bit of effort to make the place look decent.
But it’s blatantly not nearly enough, as evidenced by the absolute state of some areas of the promenade.
In terms of coasters, according to RCDB there was a kiddy coaster around here until last year, but not here now. I was just interested to just have a bit of a look around though to be honest, and see what had changed in the area.
The Sky Tower is still there, though it doesn’t rotate anymore.
I didn’t go on it, but planned to later before I left. This didn’t happen either, but we’ll get to that. When the tide is out, there’s actually a huge stretch of beach here. Not a nice beach, granted.
Children’s Village amusement park is right next to the tower.
And the CRED is actually still here!
I’m guessing that someone had been here in the off season and all the rides were packed away somewhere. Anyway, I rode the crappy thing and felt very guilty as I AM NOT A CREDIT WHORE!
This thing has been here for ever. 20 years at least since I can remember it from when I used to come here as a kid. I contemplated going in it, but didn’t.
I decided to walk along the coast to Towyn, where two small parks are located. Here’s the old site of Ocean Beach, on the far west side of the beach, which appears to have had nothing done to it since the rides were removed about 3 years ago.
Looking back into gorgeous Rhyl:
After walking for about twenty minutes or so, you can spot the next park, William’s Amusements.
It has a big apple and a Pinfari something or other.
I gave the big apple a go first. ‘Twas alright as far as big apples go.
Both coasters cost 3 tokens (or a quid fifty) each. There were wristbands available, of which, after viewing the other “attractions” on offer, I declined to partake.
There was a scrambler and some waltzers as well, but I didn’t take any pictures of those because I was already getting strange looks.
The Pinfari was hilariously bad.
There was only one car running on it, which looked ridiculous.
I enjoyed some witty repartee with the unsmiling ride op while I waited for the troglodyte-filled car to return to the station.
Ride op: Ya need two people mate.
Me: The woman in the booth said it was ok (a cunning lie on my part)
Ride op: Oh. Right then.
It was pretty rubbish really, yet quite funny. The seats wobbled and didn’t feel as if they were connected to the car properly, and it was really crawling around the corners between the drops.
I then left to head to the other park in the area, Knightly’s Funfair, which is about a ten-minute walk away. I was hungry. In Towyn the food options consisted of chips, chips, chips, thick-cut fried potato, chips, or there was this cleverly-named restaurant:
I had chips.
The approach to Knightly’s is stunningly beautiful.
With some excellent themeing in someone’s front garden.
You have to cross a railway track to get to the actual park, but what a treat once you’ve made the effort!
The only coaster here is a Zamperla Dragon.
I count powered coasters. I count clones, I’ve ridden loads of these. I rode this one, too.
Some other stuff…
Just behind the park, you get a lovely view of a wind farm and access to the beach where Anthony Davies was brutally stabbed to death by that cheeky chappy we heard of earlier, Peter Moore.
There are also some lovely views over the Towyn cityscape, where you can look back, with fond memories, on William’s Amusements.
After this I just got a bus (2 quid fifty! Robbing bastards!) back into Rhyl. I had planned to go on the sky tower before I left, but the bus drops off right at the train station, and the next train out of there was leaving 5 minutes later, which, needless to say, I was on.
