KATHY

Hi, <BR>I will be in London this summer and we are considering visiting Blackpool. From what I have heard it is a resort town similar to Coney Island in New York. Has anyone been there recently? What was it like? How long of a train ride is it from London? Is it small enough to see in a day or should I plan on spending a few days there? <BR>

Tony

Kathy.. <BR> <BR>Blackpool is approximately three and a half hours by train from London, situated on the North West coast of England, on the Irish Sea. <BR>It is a sort of English version of Coney Island, in as much as it boasts a huge fun fair, (theme/adventure park?) but I suspect it is more like Atlantic City was before the casinos were built. <BR>It's hey day as a holiday centre was in the 1930s and 1940s ending in the mid 1950s, when cheap overseas holidays became available for Britons in the sunnier climes of Spain etc. <BR>It has a climate which is often described as bracing (i.e., cool and windy). <BR>Whilst Northerners and Scots still love and visit Blackpool for their holidays, the main visitors nowadays are day trippers by car, or more often coaches. They love to visit the fair, go for a tram ride or walk along the promenade, have a few games of bingo, then pack the pubs before a fish and chip supper and a coach ride home, with frequent "comfort stops" <BR>In the Summer several theatres feature the best of English Variety and Music Hall with afternoon and evening performances. The Tower Ballroom features Ballroom Dancing for both beginners and the more accomplished. <BR>The main claim to fame is Blackpool Tower, a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower, and for which there are no queues for the ride to the top in a 100 year old rickety elevator. <BR>In short, it is not normally at the top of the list for overseas visitors, but nevertheless a good time can be had by all id you are in the right mood to join in. <BR>Anthropolgists would find it an interesting study of the Northern tribes of England letting off steam! <BR>I like it!

Sheila

There is definitely something wrong with that Tony Hughes. He can't find athing right to saya bout Dundee and he LIKES Blackpool!!<BR><BR>Blackpool is the pits. You could have a good time there if you were in the right mood, and half drunk. You would have to enjoy "Kiss me Quick" hats, sticks of Blackpool rock and the worst junk food inthe universe. I don't think there is a decent restaurant in the place, it's dirty and rightly famed for badtempered landladies.<BR><BR>There are lots of things for little kids to do; ona good day you could spend time on the beach, but only if you don't mind the radioactivity (and the sewage). This has been visited here before. I will search and top for you.

Tony

Sorry Sheila you've got the wrong Tony. <BR>Besides everybody is entitled to a day off from castles, stately homes, museums and haggis. Whats wrong with Blackpool Rock and Greenalls best bitter once in a while? <BR>I did'nt say I'd like to live there, or even go for my holidays. <BR>Incidentally I did live near Dundee once, and I don't recall any attractions there worth a day trip, except, maybe, Carnoustie golf course, but that is out of town anyway.

KATHY

Thank you Tony and Sheila. Unfortunately one of you thinks it would be great fun and the other wouldn't want to be caught dead there. <BR> <BR>We are taking our kids with us who are 11 and 15. I thought this would be a fun day trip for them. Does anyone have any thoughts? Is there a different amusement park area that you think would be better? <BR> <BR>Thanks, <BR>Kathy <BR>

Billie

Read what BIll Bryson says about Blackpool in 'Notes from a Small Island" <BR>Among other observations he notes that the nightly 'illuminations'may be exciting to someone who has never seen electricity before!

Jan

I agree with Tony's views re Blackpool, great place for people watching and I have managed to enjoy the place without being half drunk.If you are looking for just an amusement/ theme park Chessington World of Adventures or Thorpe Park would certainly be more convienient as both are on the outskirts of London, further afield, though not as far as Blackpool, is Alton Towers,lots of rides here.

Tony

Kathy.. <BR> <BR>If you do decide to go I think it is a bit too far for a day trip. Worth at least one night, if only because at least half the fun is in the evening (for all the family).

Marion

DON'T DO IT!!! <BR> <BR>I would hate to think that you thought that Blackpool was representative of this country!! Check out Brighton instead - only an hour on the train from London and much more pleasant. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip though.

alex

Kathy <BR> <BR>Tony's (the first post) comments are pretty spot on, from what I've heard from other people. I haven't been to Blackpool but have always wanted to go: I think just to see what it's like - true, the beach is meant to be filthy, things are quite "lively" but the rides at the Pleasure Beach (amusement park), illuminations in autumn and the Blackpool Tower are meant to be worth experiencing. After all, more people (mostly English) go there then any other "tourist" attraction. It might be too far for a day trip though. Brighton is great fun also with its pier, not many rides and Pavillion, also good shops and a different but very English seaside experience - train 1 hour from London. For rides, Chessington and Thorpe Park are near London (less than an hour from the centre) but if your family is really interested in big rides etc then Alton Towers is definitely the best place to go in England - see Altontowers.com for travel details - about 2.5 hours out of London so can be done in a long day but it is expensive (£22) and the queues at the theme parks can be pretty "Disney-like".

kate

Please God don't go to Blackpool, unless you want to see the British at their worst - loud, drunk, fat. Although your kids would probably love it. <BR> <BR>It's my idea of absolute hell. <BR> <BR>As previous posters have said, go to Alton Towers for amusement rides and Brighton for traditional english seaside.

sylvia

I would agree that Blackpool is grotty in the extreme but it shows a side of England that the visitor rarely sees. <BR>Because there are so many cheap holidays abroad, the sort of people who went there now go to Spain or Florida. English seaside resorts now divide between two types, garish and run-down or quiet and select, e.g. Southwold or Frinton where the locals nearly dies of horror when somebody wanted to open a fish and chip place.

Daphne

Blackpool, Eng. <BR>We didn't go up to the top of the tower---rather expensive. Also, there were quite a few really dirty postcard out on racks which you may not want your children to see.

CT

Hi Kathy, A friend and I visited Blackpool on a weekday trip in mid June 1999 and had a great time. Arrived about 10am and went to the Blackpool Tower complex which houses several floors with different attractions, which seemed to be geared toward teenagers (Arcade with video games, etc..) The complex has restaurants a large ballroom where people were dancing at 11:00am and of course there is the Tower itself. (I believe it around 500 feet tall) You can take a elevator ride to the observation area and walk around and get a great view of the promenade below. Oh there is a place on the observation area where the floor you walk across is made of clear plexiglass and you can see all the way down to the bottom of the tower. Some people would not walk across it and I must admit that it did make me feel uneasy standing on it and looking down. Behind the Tower is a Shopping Centre called Houndshill if you want to do some shopping. From the Tower we headed south along the Promenade. The weather that day was cool to start with but did warm up enough that I did'nt need my jacket that I had broughtwith me. The Promenade runs along the beach and has a Tram that you can ride for a price but is well worth it, as the walk is quite long if you are heading for Pleasure Beach the amusement park. Along the way there is the Central Pier which has a large ferris wheel, amusement rides and games to play on it. There is no charge to walk out on to the Pier. The street that runs alng the Promenade has lots of shops, amusements, restaurants and bingo places. I believe there is a wax museum there too if I remember correctly. Oh and the street is lined on both side with street lightpoles that have alien spaceships on top of them (maybe they were clamshells instead of spaceships, I'll have to get my pictures out and look again). You said you were taking your kids with you and Pleasure Beach amusement park is a lot of fun. It is not set up like the Theme Parks here in the states like Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. It is on the order of the old Amusement Parks like Coney Island and it does have some great rides like the Pepsi Max which is one of the new giant size steel roller coasters (I'm in my 40's and thought it was blast). The park boast 5 or 6 roller coasters, most are the wooden type style. One called the Steeple Chase (sp) is the kind that you race with the other car on a parrellel track. The park also has the Playstation which is one of those rides that shoots you straight up in the air at high speed and then lowers you again. The park has lots of different rides and some turn of them are turn of the century rides that surprisingly were alot of fun. The park is not like a 500 acre park where you spend alot of time walking from ride to ride and the day we were there was not at all crowded, in fact it was rare that we spent any time waiting to get on any ride and that includes the Pepsi Max steel coaster which I rode about 12 times. All in all I really enjoyed my day at Blackpool I didn't run into any drunk people, and the people that I did meet were very friendly and nice. If you would like to e-mail me direct I can then e-mail you back pictures that I took of Blackpool.

Phil

While in college, my friend and I went down to Blackpool, hoping to spend the weekend. We went during the fall, which is not a busy time, and yet no B&B would rent us a room. We were two 20-year-old Irishmen, nicely dressed, and quiet. Yet, as soon as they heard our accents, doors were shut.

Fwhiteside

The "First Tony's" comments cannot be bettered. You wouldn't go to Las Vegas expecting it to be like Salt Lake City would you ( or vice versa ) ? If you are 'white knuckle freaks' then the Pleasure Beach cannot be beaten ( yes I have been to Disney World, Busch Gardens, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, Disneyland Tokyo etc. etc. ). If you want culture, go somewhere else.