There was plenty of entertainment at Ocean Beach Funfair (Image: trinity mirror)
Silent, empty and abandoned – these words perfectly sum up what was once Wales’ bustling heart of fairground fun and family entertainment. Dodgems, carousels, roller coasters and spinning teacup attractions – in its prime, this seaside amusement park buzzed with thrills as excited visitors enjoyed the many attractions available.
After it shut down, nothing was left for years apart from abandoned fragments of rusting metal. Now, a retail shopping complex occupies the site where the funfair previously stood. Ocean Beach amusement park in Rhyl, North Wales, ran for 53 unforgettable years from 1954 until 2007, reports Liverpool Echo.
On September 2, 2007, it shut its doors to the public for good, and the people of Wales lost a significant and beloved part of their childhood.
Humble beginnings
The Rhyl Ocean Beach funfair first opened its doors to the public in the 1890s, following Rhyl’s emergence as a popular coastal destination after its railway station was built in 1848.
The amusement park was initially situated at Marine Lake and attracted thousands of visitors each year.
Because of its rapid expansion and popularity, the funfair needed to move to a larger site in 1954, transferring to the western end of the seafront to accommodate bigger crowds and more substantial rides.
Ocean Beach’s original claim to fame was its tubular steel rollercoaster – the first of its kind in Britain at that time. A classic 1950s ghost train, renowned jet stream and a 1930s vintage toy collection bolstered its array of attractions.
Ocean Beach in Rhyl shut its doors in September 2007 (Image: Jeff Pitt)
The venue also featured the world’s last surviving circular water chute. Nevertheless, the undisputed highlight of Ocean Beach’s offering was its iconic Pepsi-Cola loop, which towered over the park’s other (almost equally) exhilarating rides.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the North Wales amusement park thrived, attracting innumerable adventure-seekers through its gates.
Why it closed down
Like many other Victorian-era attractions throughout the UK, Ocean Beach experienced a sharp and sudden drop in popularity as modernisation emerged in the early 2000s.
The park’s declining visitor numbers were exacerbated by safety incidents, which tarnished its reputation and dealt a substantial blow.
In July 2005, a rollercoaster at Ocean Beach derailed, leaving five people injured in what park management described as “the first accident in 40 years”.
One of the rollercoaster’s carriages was at ground level when it was struck by a carriage travelling behind it, forcing it off the tracks. Before this incident, the amusement park had maintained an exemplary safety record.
The Pepsi-Cola Loop was a popular ride at the funfair (Image: trinity mirror)
Just two years later, in September 2007, with falling visitor numbers and diminishing appeal in the modern era, the owners of Ocean Beach amusement park in Rhyl ceased operations after failing to secure substantial investment for new rides. Harold Robinson, Chief Executive of Rhyl Amusements, who started working at the park at just 12-years-old, told North Wales Live: “I have spent all my working life here and it is a very sad thing, not just for me, but for everyone really.
“The funfair was very busy in the 1960s. There were coaches and people coming in from all over the country on trains.
“But business has dropped off in recent years because people’s holiday habits are changing. Funfairs at resorts are becoming non-viable. The cost of keeping rides maintained is too high and footfall is dropping off. I think closing it is the right thing to do for the town.”
Current state of the funfair
Today, Rhyl Funfair stands eerily deserted, preserved only in recollections. Most of its attractions have been abandoned to deteriorate, with images showing once-cherished rollercoasters and rides from the park’s golden era disintegrating beneath the unforgiving Welsh seaside weather.
Throughout the years, numerous redevelopment proposals have been put forward, yet none have come to fruition.
A mixed-use development incorporating retail, residential and leisure elements was scheduled to commence in May 2009, but the plans faced delays and were ultimately abandoned entirely.
In 2015, approval was granted for Marina Quay, a retail-focused development, and shops at the former theme park location have since opened progressively from 2017 onwards. The entire seafront landmark was demolished and replaced with a brand-new retail park, which now houses well-known outlets including ALDI and Greggs.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
