I've been coming to Rhyl for 70 years. The front has improved 100 per cent, it's just a pity about the back

FOR generations visitors have streamed into Rhyl before ebbing away due to the rise of cheap foreign holidays, the cost of living and a beleaguered reputation.

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However, Rhyl has had something of a makeover and I went along to gauge visitors’ opinions on a sunny afternoon.

Sea defence work and a raised and widened promenade - costing £69m of Welsh Government cash - is all but complete.

The SC2 waterpark has reopened, the Queen's Market is up and running and the derelict SeaQuarium site has been cleared for potential events. The multi-screen cinema is also making a comeback.

Months of hard work and money has gone into revamping the town to attract back at least some of the legions of tourists who spent hours here in their younger years, or new generations. But is it all likely to draw in families in 2025? And, if so, what do they like best?

Setting off from by the Crazy Golf course, I headed along the prom. Soon I found Kenneth and Janet Hensall, from Denton, Manchester, sitting on a bench.

Kenneth, whose family were staying in nearby Towyn, was positive about the new promenade. He said:

"Whoever's bright idea it was to do this work deserves a pat on the back.

"I've been coming here for 70 years. The front has improved 100 per cent," said Kenneth. "It's just a pity about the back," added his wife Janet pithily.

I thanked them and walked on, towards the lifeboat station. A family-of-four were eating ice creams on a bench.

Dad Andy Walsh, of Stoke-on-Trent, said: “It (the prom) looks a lot better. It’s just a shame there’s not many people here and there’s so much litter.”

The family, which included his wife Kathy and their children Charlie, nine and six-year-old Hattie, were also staying in Towyn and had enjoyed their visit to Rhyl which had included crabbing at Marine Lake earlier in the day.