Happy Days In Towyn

A Memory of Towyn.

I grew up in Towyn and lived in the same bungalow on Towyn Way West until I got married in 1985 at the ripe old age of 31 and moved to Rhyl. My Great Aunt Sarah owned Browns Holiday Camp with Mr Brown from before the Second World War and my mother and father worked on the camp until it was sold in the 1960s. It was just like 'Hi De Hi' in those days, my father did everything from organising the sports days, cinema, fancy dress competitions, Friday night dance to building chalets, emptying the bins, mowing the grass and general all round jack of all trades. My brother and I played on the Camp (as we called it) and made many friends. I remember some of the holiday homes were old trams, not like the modern caravans of today. There used to be bikes to hire and Mr Lord would take photographs of the holiday makers and sell the photos from a booth on the Camp.

My father used to grow his own veg etc and used to go around the Camp with a tray like a cinema usherette selling his tomatoes, beans, peas and flowers. When the Camp was sold my parents started up their own business next to our bungalow, a Garden Centre called Rest Haven Nurseries. They used to work together happily in the garden but it was hard work. I remember that we would be watching TV in the evenings and there would be a knock on the door: 'Can I have a bag of Tomatoes please Mr Bowman?'. My dad always obliged and then you would see the happy customer walking away eating the tomatoes like sweets from the bag, they were so tasty. When my mother passed away in 1984 and I married, my father sold the garden centre to the Council on the understanding that it would be used as a garden for people to enjoy and he moved to live close to me in Rhyl where he lived happily until his death in 2001. I was thrilled to see last year that it has now been made into allotments and it once again has vegetables and fruit growing. My Dad would be so happy and proud.

My Nan and Granddad lived with my Aunty Sarah on Sandbank Road and we spent many happy days walking on the beach with Granddad and eating the lovely cakes from the Sandbank Bakery, which is still there today and the cakes are still lovely. My Granddad would have a chocolate eclair every day and once for his birthday the Baker made a giant chocolate eclair specially for him!
When I was about 14 I worked in the Towyn Post Office in the summer for Mr Sinclair, on the tills, and my brother Trevor worked stacking shelves. I remember the long queues of holiday makers and me panicking!

Looking at the photo of Winkups Camp reminds me of a story my dad used to tell about when he first went to Towyn during the War when he was training at Kinmel Camp. The sign was broken for Winkups Camp and it just said 'Inkups Amp'! He met my Mum at that time when she was working in Browns Camp Shop. My dad used to do Guard Duty on the field opposite Happy Days Camp where Tir Prince is today and my mum would take him strawberries to eat.

I have so many happy memories of growing up in Towyn and it is wonderful to see that Towyn is still the favourite holiday destination for so many people. It has moved with the times and is not quite the same as it was but all the same holiday camps, the fairs, Amusement Arcades and Chip Shops are there and the holiday trade seems to be thriving with people having lots of fun, just like the old days!!
Christine Potts (nee Bowman)