What do Noel Gallacher, water slides and the Wales Under 20s Rugby team have in common?
Eirias Park.
Located in Colwyn Bay, with fifty acres of parkland, Eirias Park is a leisure centre with a difference. This isn’t just your local lido. Here’s why.
What Is In Eirias Park?
Short answer, a lot.
Facilities include a six-lane swimming pool with various water features and a separate water slide and a state-of-the-art gym.
The brand spanking new Eirias Events Centre hosts a variety of music and sporting events throughout the year — concerts, cup games, you name it, EEC can host it.
Outdoor facilities include an athletics arena, floodlit synthetic playing area and tennis courts. “Leisure facility” doesn’t quite describe it, does it?
Who Owns Eirias Park?
“The park by the sea”, as Eirias Park is also known, is owned by the council. The first 27 acres were bought by the council in 1921 and the remainder in 1929.
The playing fields were officially opened on September 27th, 1923. From that time the park has grown and developed into a completely different beast today. For context, in 1927, just 5,920 people used the various facilities. You can only imagine how many people use it now.
How Big Is Eirias Park?
Big. The park itself is 50 acres, so you can only imagine the ground it covers.
The local community developed a Eirias Park Heritage Trail to help guide people around the mainstay areas. It is an easy to walk, two mile circular route around Eirias Park exploring the park’s history. Fancy QR codes are situated throughout, revealing unexpected aspects of the park’s heritage — we’re talking a zoo, a boating lake, dinosaurs, marionettes and a stone circle.
What Can You Do At Eirias Park?
Swimming
Eirias Park has an award-winning swimming pool with six lanes, various water slides and a splash pool for the little ones. Not to mention a sauna, steam room and warm spa pool for the adults.
Watch the Rugby
Parc Eirias is the home ground for all of the Wales Under 20s Six Nation games. It is also the home ground and training facility for Rygbi Gogledd Cymrul (RGC 1404), a rugby union team founded in 2008.
Hit the Gym
Eirias Park doesn’t just offer a gym; it offers a performance gym fit for some of the best athletes in the country. Yes, you’ll have your regular timetable of fitness classes and equipment for the average joe, but you’ll also have six Olympic lifting platforms, an indoor running strip and a functional training area.
Relax at the Beach
If you can manage to walk past the two boating lakes, the playground, tennis courts and bowling green, you’ll reach Colwyn Bay beach. Now, you’ll no doubt have any time left in the day to take a dip in the sea, but if the original plan was to head to the beach anyway, a stroll through the park is a great way to get there (and take advantage of the parking!).
See A Concert
Parc Eirias doesn’t just host sporting events; it has played host to some of the biggest names in the music industry. Noel Gallagher, Olly Murs, Tom Jones and Sir Elton John have all put on a show in Eirias Park.