Rhyl is only a few miles from Prestatyn so we popped along the coast a bit. It’s a seaside town so naturally there’s some Art Deco.

Former Burton’s. Typical Burton’s Deco style:-

Art Deco style clock tower on East Parade. Nice bridge behind:-

Then there was this building still with its original Critall windows:-

The Premier Inn on East Parade has something of the look, horizontals, verticals but no rule of three:-

(I’ve been away over the weekend and so missed posting about Mac Davis and Helen Reddy. More anon.)

Anyway, here are some more photos from our trip to North Wales last September.

Prestatyn stands below a steep hill at the top of which there is a great view over the North Wales coast, looking over to Rhyl on the left with Prestatyn to the right:-

Halfway up the hill there is a house with a balcony containing statues of two lookouts commemorating an RAF observation post there during the Second World War.

Lookout 1:-

Lookout 2:-

Both lookouts:-

Near the top of the hill is the Eagle & Child Inn (also known as the Bird and Bastard):-

The above is not a badly parked car. It’s half a car:-

Home of Prestatyn Town FC.

From Hawarden we took a wee trip along Wales’s north coast and stopped at Prestatyn to see friends.

Near the seafront on, erm, Bastion Road, I spotted the local team’s football ground. (I see from Google Maps the ground is actually named Bastion Gardens.)

Ground from northwest:-

From west:-

Apart from its two Art Deco buildings (and even they were minor – see previous post) most of the architecture in Mold was fairly undistinguished.

St Mary’s Church (Eglwys y Santes Fair) prominent at the end of the High Street and built in thanksgivinbg for Henry VII of England’s victory at Bosworth Field was an exception.

Stitch of two photos:-

Tower and door:-

Information board:-

So too was this Tudor style building with unusual glazing, just opposite St Mary’s :-

Note the S-shaped pattern of the glazing on this zoom:-

The town of Mold is only a few miles from Hawarden. Its Welsh name is Yr Wyddgrug. I found two Art Deco buildings.

Thsi one has unusual diamond patterns in the brick work. Now housing the olive tree and The Bookshop:-

There was also a former Woolworths, now a B&M Bargains:-

Detail:-

On the way back out of Wrexham I made sure to stop to photograph the Racecourse Stadium (formerly the Racecourse Ground,) home of Wrexham FC, which I’d spotted on the way in. I see from the link above it’s actually Wrexham AFC.) The club has recently been the subject of feverish speculation due to interest in it from some Hollywood actors.

Southwest corner:-

Main Stand from west:-

Main Stand. Stitch of two photos:-

East Terrace:-

East Terrace, part of Main Stand, North Stand behind:-

Main Stand from east:-

Part of North Stand, seen through gap between East Stand and Main Stand:-

It always seems odd to find modern companies like Boots and Vodafone in old Tudor style buildings like this:-

Tudor Style from Gates of Church of St Giles:-

Gates to Church of St Giles – the Wonder of Wales apparently:-

St Giles Church tower:-

We didn’t go in – as I recall there was something going on – but the inside is very distinctive.

Hawarden had an RAF Station established on 1/9/1939. (A friend of ours did part of his National Service there.) I assume that is why there are so many Commonwealth War Graves Commission graves.

These are again CWGC type headstones but with domed top.

Sergeant E A Reakes, RAF, 8/1/1953 aged 28 and Sergeant E F Wheeler, RAF, 8/1/1953, aged 18.

These stones are dated 1955 as I recall, all RAF servicemen. A plane crash?

Portland stone headstones but not usual Commonwealth War Graves Commission shape.

Squadron Leader M E Le Gallez, RAF, 22/4/1962, aged 41 – outwith wartime and Charles Arthur Coatman, 17/7/1942, Lands Officer, Air Ministry – wartime but not in military:-

More non-war graves:-

But one of them, Sergeant J Lowe, RAF, has an inscription relating to the Battle of Britain. He died on 8/10/1973, aged 53:-

Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth graves:-