A Short Break In Blackpool (Blackpool in General)

Member Name: wigglylittleworm

Product:	Blackpool in General
Date:	06/10/09 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the kids loved it

Disadvantages: Some areas tacky and seedy

I was madly jealous of my friend who got to go to Blackpool every summer when we were kids. I was invited to go to Blackpool more than once as an adult but the seedy image of a holiday resort full of beer swilling Brits wearing Kiss Me Quick hats while they rode donkeys along the beach put me off. I made my first visit for a day in 2008 when we visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the distance meaning it is a four hour drive from central Scotland and we were able to travel there and back in one day. Blackpool was not nearly as seedy as I thought it would be so we ended up booking a short family break in 2009 so we could explore the town more fully.

There is a massive choice of accommodation to choose from in Blackpool with dozens of bed and breakfasts, hotels, apartments and holiday parks to choose from. I had heard many tales about dragon-like bed and breakfast owners and we eventually decided to stay in Marton Mere holiday camp owned by Haven Holidays which provides self catering caravans on a family friendly resort set on a nature reserve.

We spent five nights in Blackpool and spent our days visiting attractions in the area. The first stop for us was the Pleasure Beach, Britain's biggest theme park with a range of rollercoaster's and fairground rides for all the family. We loved the pleasure beach and despite the crowds and queues would happily visit again.

The second day we visited Blackpool Zoo, the zoo is fantastic with a brilliant range of animals, our favourite part of the zoo is an attraction called Amazonia which is an indoor rainforest housing cheeky little monkeys who are so tame they will come up close and try and steal food from your bag. The zoo is set in a really attractive park and it was a day enjoyed by both the kids and the adults.

On day three we visited Sandcastle Waterpark, the UK's largest waterpark and although the kids loved splashing around and riding the worlds biggest water rollercoaster the adults felt that this attraction was vastly overpriced and not nearly as good as we expected it to be.

On day four we visited Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium, one of the museums charting the weird and wonderful finds of adventurer Robert Ripley. Amongst the oddities inside this museum are a shrunken head, a two headed calf, optical illusions and a life sized statue of the worlds fattest man. It was a reasonably good exhibit but once you have seen it once you probably won't want to visit again.

After we came out of Ripley's we decided to catch one of the famous trams along to the other end of the Promenade to Blackpool Tower. The trams were a slight let down to be honest, on the inside they resembled an old bus and were very crowded. They are a good way to get around the main tourist areas as they run very frequently and stop at all the main attractions but apart from being a convenient means of travel they are not really very exciting.

I was looking forward to visiting Blackpool Tower, an iconic building built in the shape of the Eifel Tower. I really wanted to visit the tower to climb to the top and take the walk of faith over a glass platform and also to visit the famous ballroom with the massive WWurlitzer organ. Unfortunately the top of the tower was closed on the day of our visit due to high winds so we decided to leave the Tower for another visit.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering along the main tourist area, walking along the piers and visiting the beach instead. The beach is clean and you can pick up a bucket and spade at one of the many stalls nearby to make your own sandcastles. There are also the famous donkey rides for the younger children.

Blackpool has three piers and we visited both the South and Central Piers. Both of these piers have free entry and you can wander along them and enjoy the views, visit a pub or café and have a meal or drink or play on some of the sideshows. The piers were looking a bit neglected, especially the central pier and it was a shame to see these structures looking a bit shabby.


It is true that much of the main tourist area along the Promenade is very tacky with endless amusement arcades, chip shops and souvenir shops selling sticks of rock in the shape of rude body parts. The town also has a reputation for being a wild party destination for Stag and Hen parties who binge drink and cause lots of trouble but because we never visited any night spots then we never met any of these groups. There are also genuine psychics in booths on every corner, each one claiming to be the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and are happy to tell your fortune for a fee. I never visited any of those psychics myself but I have two friends who both claim to have been given accurate readings.

In Blackpool's heyday it was the place where workers from the North of England and Scotland would swarm in their droves and despite the fact that there are still over 10 million visitors a year then it is clear that some areas of Blackpool are looking a bit sad and neglected. There were some parts of our visit that we really enjoyed like the zoo or Marton Mere nature reserve. I found that the Blackpool residents were very warm and laid back and welcoming and that the town overall had a really nice atmosphere. I would visit again with kids for a short break in the UK as there is so much for them to do and see that they had a brilliant time.

Summary: Good for a short break