For the first time since February, we’ve been outside the Midlands.

Covid restrictions meant our planned trip in May to Morecambe was cancelled, so our first time away this year was with family members and a trip to Rhyl.

Rhyl has family memories for me: mostly my old man’s derision for the place, for some reason unknown, because he never showed the same dislike for other North Wales resorts: there’s a photo I have of him before he was married in front of Colwyn Bay pier, a photo I now regret not re-creating with myself in 2017. I’d been to Rhyl recently, and found it OK, so we were there. The choice of a decent hotel at a good price, a decent prom, and amenities at hand swung it, so it was another trip up the A41 (not the M62)and into Wales. A few moments where we’d confused the location of the Premier Inn and the Travelodge, and we were parked and in.

Our prior experience paid off, by avoiding the town centre pubs which were all packed out by the goverment’s free food on the taxpayer scheme, and instead heading for the Cob & Pen. The aforementioned scheme really distorts the market Mon-Weds: we had difficulty that evening too.

Overall, Rhyl was not bad at all: the social distancing (or lack of it) by some people near the seafront arcades left something to be desired, but other than that it felt pretty safe: notably the pubs were well run. The promenade is nice, the beach clean and sandy, and nowhere ripped us off.