Thank goodness that after around 55/60 posts this thread has got to writing about Colwyn Bay.
Today the new beach got a first minor taste of why it was constructed in the first place. There was a stiffish North East wind and a reasonably high tide. Waves were breaking over reasonably badly towards Rhos --- and around to Penrhyn Bay.
But between the Colwyn Bay end of the Cayley embankment all the way to Porth Eirias you could walk on dry sand. Except past the pier, of course. But that is a different matter.
So, my verdict from an unqualified bomber command technician, bank official, shopkeeper, tours coach driver, golf course impresario with not the slightest knowledge about the construction of coastal defences, is "So far, so good. Money well spent."
Time (and tide) will of course tell. Maybe I will have to eat my words after the first really big North East storm.