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< Visitor’s guide to Rhyl

Walking and cycling

Rhyl promenade is a highlight on two major trails – one for cyclists and one for walkers. The detours will add a few metres to the journey but take nothing away from the experience.

Cycling & National Route 5

This 336-mile route passes through beautiful countryside and historic towns and cities on an epic journey from Reading to North Wales. It enters Rhyl at the harbour, where you can buy, repair or hire a bike at The Bike Hub. Then it crosses Pont y Ddraig bridge and heads along the promenade towards Prestatyn.

Due to the coastal defence works you’ll have to make a couple of detours, briefly joining the carriageway and avoiding the busy Children’s Village. Just follow the Route 5 signs to find your way.

Just off the promenade, behind the Marine Lake, award-winning Marsh Tracks is a purpose-built arena for cycle sport featuring a 1.3km closed circuit road cycling track, a national standard BMX track with Bensink start gate and an exhilarating mountain biking track.

Wales Coast Path

The Wales Coast Path is the world’s first footpath to follow an entire nation’s coastline – all 870 miles of it. This is the perfect way to see Denbighshire’s magnificent coast, taking in the seven miles of sand between Rhyl and Prestatyn and on to wildlife-rich Gronant Dunes.

Just for now there are two short detours from Rhyl promenade, taking you along East Parade and West Parade – all the better to see attractions such as the SC2 water park, Children’s Village and Pavilion Theatre.

Accessible walks

It’s not all long-distance epics. There are plenty of easier access routes for people with varying levels of mobility – with walks around the Marine Lake (LL18 1AQ) and through the nature reserve at Brickfields Pond (LL18 2RN), plus an all-ability trail along the banks of the Clwyd estuary at Glan Morfa (LL18 2AD). Try Rhyl’s popular town trail, a 2.5-mile flat and circular stroll that takes in most of the town’s main sights.

Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail

At nearby Prestatyn the Wales Coast Path joins Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail to circumnavigate the whole of Wales – 1,030 miles in total. Stretching from sea to sea, Offa’s Dyke Path crosses the England-Wales border an incredible 27 times and Prestatyn is the final destination for many walkers.