The recently installed hospitality parklets bustled with customers on the morning of Wales' reopening of outdoor spaces for food and drink.

Initially installed on Stanwell Road, Station Approach and Ludlow Lane in mid-December, the pavement extensions have gone unused for over five months since the most recent lockdown was imposed.

They were designed to to create outdoor dining spaces similar to the "al fresco" eateries of mainland Europe.

And a stroll through the town centre today indeed took on a distinctly Parisian feel, with waiters and waitresses serving carefree customers in the April sunshine - a far cry from the dreariness of winter.

"We opened at 7 and from 8 the whole of the parklets have been full," Sian Fox, owner of Foxy's Cafe, told Nub News. She shares the Station Approach parklet with Gin64.

"It was cold but they braved the cold. The flowers are gorgeous and everyone's smiling."

"It's wonderful," added one of such smiling customers.

"It's gotten a bit windier so it's very nice to have a bit of shelter as well. When the sun comes through it's delightful. Friends have asked me to join them tomorrow as well."

"They're a beautiful space and with the beautiful flowers around it's just like a nice little garden really," chimed in another.

Matt Holland and Charlotte Church, the couple behind Willmore's 1938, had a slightly steadier start to proceedings before the pace picked up considerably by 11am.

"The parklets are amazing," said Matt at 10am. "The new artwork on them by Candid Creative Studio looks fantastic and the flowers look amazing as well.

"It's just a case of waiting for customers to come now because it's a bit cold today."

Come they did. By 11:30 every table was full. Although Willmore's has operated a takeaway service throughout lockdown, Matt says reopening this morning came as a shock to the system.

"Well, we're a bit nervous because it's been a while," continued Matt. "You're wondering if you can do it like you used to! [...] and I think a lot of people feel worried about taking that step and going out socialising.

"But we need to all get back to normal and enjoy ourselves and get our mental health back on track."

The Vale of Glamorgan Council funded the parklets, hoping to help the hospitality sector recover from the toughest year in living memory.

Cllr Lis Burnett, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration, said: "We all know what a difficult time local businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, have endured since the pandemic first hit.

"As a Council we have tried to offer as much support as possible, whether that be by helping to process grants to provide financial assistance or issuing outdoor licences to help traders continue to operate.

"We have also used funding to appoint urban design specialists to identify further areas of support and met with businesses to hear their ideas.

"Parklets are the first major initiative to come out of that work. We hope they will create a friendly and attractive environment for visitors to Penarth town centre.

"Unfortunately, the physical location of some outlets will not make then suitable candidates for a parklet, and in such cases we will look at alternative measures to support those and other businesses during later phases of this funding."