Colwyn Bay

Colwyn Bay (/ˈkɒlwɪn/; Welsh: Bae Colwyn [ˈbai ˈkɔlʊɨn] ^ⓘ) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Denbighshire. At the 2021 census, the community had a population of 10,576, and the built up area had a population of 29,275. According to the tourist board, it is renowned for its 3 mile long sandy beach which has been enhanced with millions of tonnes of sand, so therefore 'man-made' and its permanently available irrespective of the tides.

The western side of Colwyn Bay, Rhos-on-Sea, includes a number of historic sites associated with St Trillo and Ednyfed Fychan, the 13th century general and councillor to Llywelyn the Great.

The name 'Colwyn' may be named after Collwyn ap Tangno, an 11th century nobleman who was Lord of Eifionnydd, Ardudwy and part of the Llŷn peninsula, or after the River Colwyn in Old Colwyn. (In Welsh the word Colwyn means "puppy" (with the 'w' being a vowel), but Collwyn (with an alveolar lateral fricative) is a more plausible toponym, meaning "hazel grove" (llwyn cyll).)

King Richard II (1367–1400) was ambushed in Old Colwyn in 1399 by supporters of Henry Bolingbroke as he returned to England from Ireland.

Colwyn Bay railway station opened in 1849 on the Chester and Holyhead Railway. The station was initially just called Colwyn, but was renamed Colwyn Bay in 1876. As with nearby Llandudno and Rhyl, Colwyn Bay grew rapidly following the arrival of the railway, becoming a seaside holiday town, conveniently accessible for the large towns in north-west England. Much of the area around Colwyn Bay station was owned by the Pwllycrochan Estate. From 1875 onwards, the estate actively sought to develop its land, selling building plots for development whilst retaining some control over the nascent town.

Britain's first milk bar branch of the National Milk Bar company of Robert William Griffiths was opened in Colwyn Bay in 1933.

During World War II the Colwyn Bay Hotel, Marine Road (now demolished) was the headquarters of the Ministry of Food. This also housed the Cocoa & Chocolate division and was the communications hub for the ministry. They continued to use the hotel until 1953. Colwyn also supported the war effort by becoming a significant location for the diamond cutting and polishing industry, which was used to help fund the war effort.

There are two tiers of local government covering Colwyn Bay, at community (town) and county borough level: Bay of Colwyn Town Council (Cyngor Tref Bae Colwyn) and Conwy County Borough Council (Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy). The town council is a grouped community council, covering the three communities of Colwyn Bay, Old Colwyn and Rhos-on-Sea. The town council is based at Colwyn Bay Town Hall on Rhiw Road, which was built as a magistrates' court. The county borough council also has its main offices in the town, at Coed Pella on Conway Road.