Rhyl

During the Edwardian era Rhyl was the place to go for your seaside holidays. Crowded excursion trains filled the station platforms, plump guesthouse owners welcomed their guests with cheery smiles, and young men in boaters strolled the prom arm in arm with their charming companions in button-up boots and long skirts.

Times change, and Rhyl has gone downhill considerably. The train line has been reduced from four tracks to two, most of the guesthouses are full of the unemployed and homeless, and a feckless council plunges into debt tearing down everything beautiful, erecting horrible modern constructions that no one wants, and doing its best to discourage anyone who drives a car.

Still, Rhyl has one or two attractions, and the Sun Centre is probably one of the most popular. It is a huge glasshouse type structure containing two big pools. When the sea is too rough or too cold, when the sun isn't shining and there's a cold wind blowing, this is the place to take the family.

Join Arianne and Becky as they romp in the pools and explore the other attractions. If you enjoy watching them, a DVD with all four Arianne films is available through our on-line shop.

A number of businessmen and women joined together to form the Rhyl Business Group and are using their influence to prod the council into action. The result is some real progress and in our final film Barry Mellor talks about some of the areas where a difference is being made.

The "More info" refers to a charming series of books - An Edwardian Summer, An Edwardian Christmas, and two others whose names I have forgotten. There are no words, just exquisite paintings that tell the story of an Edwardian family enjoying their summer holidays: watch out for the obsequious landlady, the fox-hunting couple in love, and see if you can detect the end of the era in the final picture.

A book to look at with your children - or anyone else's children!