February mini break day 2 – Colwyn Bay

The second morning of the weekend arrived gloriously sunny and perfect for my intended day out. The main destination this time was Colwyn Bay, less than four miles down the coast, and the main objective was to see for myself the ridiculously short pier which Eileen and her hubby had told me about, though first was a walk from the camp site and along by the nearby beach.

Not far from the site and near the beach car park was Llanddulas railway viaduct, constructed in 1879 after the original viaduct collapsed during a storm in August that year. With round-the-clock working facilitated by one of the first uses of electric lighting on a construction site work progressed rapidly and the new bridge was opened to rail traffic just one month later, though the current bridge deck is more modern and dates from 1974.

My walk took me along the coast path for about a mile, past the point where the River Dulas runs into the sea, to Tides cafe bistro at The Beach caravan park; this was the place where I’d had my first taste of the fruit cake version of bara brith several years ago, and very nice it was too. Since my walk along there in December I’d learned that this was also the area where, on August 20th 1868, what was then the worst railway disaster in Britain occurred.

A goods train was being shunted into sidings and half a dozen wagons loaded with paraffin were left temporarily on the main line, held only by the brakes of the brake van even though they were parked on an incline. The two brakesmen had both dismounted to take part in the shunting operations but when the engine backed onto the wagons the jolt caused the brake van to release its own brakes, sending the wagons rolling down the line into the path of the approaching Holyhead-bound Irish Mail express train.The force of the collision derailed the Irish Mail engine, its tender and the leading guard’s van; the engine ran on for about 30 yards then overturned to the left while the tender overturned to the right, completely fouling up the other track.

The heavy loss of life resulting from the accident was actually caused less by the impact itself and more by the load of two of the runaway wagons. Some of the barrels of paraffin broke up in the collision and their contents caught fire and exploded; the Irish Mail engine, tender, guard’s van and the first three passenger carriages were instantly enveloped in dense smoke and flames which soon spread to the fourth carriage and the leading post office van. This prevented any immediate rescue attempt and the occupants of the first four carriages all died, together with the guard in the front guard’s van and the locomotive’s fireman. The engine driver had managed to jump clear just before the collision and though he was wounded by flying splinters he was able to uncouple the last six carriages of the train, which were moved away before the fire could reach them. He died two months later from a pre-existing condition though an inquest concluded that his death had been hastened by the injuries he sustained in the accident.

On legal advice the two brakesmen of the goods train didn’t give evidence at the inquest and the coroner’s jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against them. They were tried at Ruthin assizes the following spring but were acquitted after the jury returned a verdict of ‘Not Guilty’ following the judge’s instruction that they should consider if the two men were, or should have been, under the supervision of a superior officer, ie the Llanddulas stationmaster.

A total of 33 people died in that accident, with the victims being burned beyond recognition, though three of them were later identified by their personal effects. The final official tally was 10 males, 13 females, and 10 gender unknown, and all the remains were buried on August 25th 1868 in a mass grave at St. Michael’s Church, Abergele, where a memorial to them still stands. Walking along the pleasant path in the sunshine of a quiet morning it was hard to believe that such an accident had occurred near there more than a century earlier.

The drive from the camp site to Colwyn Bay took less than ten minutes and I parked at the far end of the promenade not far from Rhos-on-Sea. Set in the pavement every few yards were a series of granite ‘postcards’ depicting various points in Colwyn Bay’s timeline as part of the Waterfront Project, a recent upgrade and enhancement of the promenade area. Local architect Sydney Colwyn Foulkes (1884-1971) was responsible for the design of many of Colwyn Bay’s most lovely buildings and the elephant featured was mechanical rather than a live one.

Designed and patented by Frank Smith of Morecambe in the late 1940s after visiting a zoo, the Colwyn Bay mechanical elephant ran on wheels powered by a small belt-driven two-stroke petrol engine. Children sat sideways on benches which ran the length of the creature’s back and the fare for a ride was 6d each (six old pence). The elephant travelled at about 2mph and the ‘keeper’, who had to have a driving licence, walked alongside it.

Rhos-on-Sea from Colwyn Bay promenade

The centrepiece of the newly upgraded promenade was the word ‘Colwyn’ designed by an architecture student at Wrexham University. The letters, each two metres tall, were formed from a precast concrete mix containing a dye to give them a unique coppery-orange colouring, then to complete the finish they were chiselled with an attractive design to depict either waves rolling onto the beach or hills and sand dunes.

And then there was the pier – and yes, it was short. The original pier, which opened in June 1900, had suffered from years of neglect and decay and on February 1st 2017 the seaward end partially collapsed into the sea. This was followed by a further collapse on the 23rd of the month during Storm Doris and following a lot of discussion among the powers-that-be it was decided to remove the pier completely, with dismantling taking place between February and May 2018. All the salvageable parts were stored safely and after restoration the construction of the new but much shortened pier began in 2019, with the pier itself finally being opened to the public on July 14th 2021.

Now I have to admit that personally I think the new pier does look nice – the restored and repainted ironwork and the replica lamp columns are lovely – but it also looks a bit pointless. A few nice benches along each side would really complete the look but as it is now it’s just a wide empty boardwalk with fancy sides, no character and no real purpose.

Across from the pier a pedestrian underpass led under the nearby railway line towards the town and on each corner wall I found some great street art, with all the murals featuring something pertaining to Colwyn Bay in years gone by. A bit further along the promenade I came to another art installation, a family of life-size silhouetted figures made from cast steel and overlooking the beach, then a short distance away was a series of contemporary seats and benches of different shapes and sizes, although none of them looked particularly comfortable to sit or lie on.

Further on still was the Porth Eirias Waterfront Complex, a modern building housing a watersports centre, bike shop, childrens’ play area and a (very expensive) Bryn Williams bistro, and at the front of the building was The Cormorant, another art installation.

The Little Orme headland, less than four miles along the coast, has one of the largest Cormorant colonies in the UK and the birds are a frequent sighting on the Colwyn Bay coastline. The idea for the installation came from a student concept and the initial frame was created from welded steel rods with wings formed from old shelving panels. The feet are an unwanted pair of swim flippers while the feathers were made from old bicycle tyres and a tractor inner tube. The wing peaks and chest are from fly-tipped quad bike mud guards, the tail and lower belly were made from an old plastic garden chair and the beak was made from a discarded flexible yellow plastic tub. Black land drainage pipe made the neck and the plastic bottles in the belly highlight the issue of plastic pollution in the sea and the detrimental affect it can have on marine wildlife.

At the back of the building a grass covered slope with a zigzag path and steps up the side led up to the roof. The slope looked rather untidy but according to the nearby information board these plants and grasses are native to the British coastline and in that particular location they contribute to the building’s low environmental impact. Up on the roof there was a great view across the beach in both directions and looking down the grass covered slope was much nicer than looking up it, in fact I thought the view could quite easily have been somewhere abroad.

Although I knew there were other parts of Colwyn Bay to see there was also somewhere else I wanted to go to and I had quite a distance to walk to get back to the van so I made that my last photo and headed back along the promenade. I’d never been to Colwyn Bay before so I don’t know what it was like in previous years but I was very impressed with the promenade and the lovely beach so it’s definitely a place I’ll return to in the not-too-distant future.