Blackpool Illuminations 2014

[tod2]

Blackpool....playground of the Stag Night boys, the Hen Party girls, the thrill seeking rollercoaster riders, and the rest of us who see Blackpool in a completely different light altogether!

As we were in England the time of the annual Illuminations, a visit with old friends, and the fact there would be a fireworks competition on the North Pier, convinced us it was time for a second visit to Blackpool. This time we had high hopes for good weather unlike the constant drizzle that dampened our enjoyment last time.

Our friends wisely booked a rather nice old hotel with a bit of class. It was further down the promenade and out of the crush of the area around the Tower.
Setting off from Rossendale ( near Manchester) we first called in at Bury Market. Being a Friday it wasn't overcrowded and we had a very enjoyable stroll through the stalls and shops.
Our arrival in Blackpool at lunchtime was an opportunity to enjoy a lovely light lunch at Bispham Kitchen. We would never have known about this delightful eatery on our own....pays to go with old hands at the Blackpool game!
With an afternoon to kill we continued on by tram ( new and very slick!), to Fleetwood Knott End Ferry. A trip back allowed us time to stroll the promenade on this glorious calm day.

Our Hotel


The promenade had been renovated beautifully, except they had not got around to painting the rusting seats on the Pier.


































Tram to Fleetwood
















That evening we did a mini tour of the lights and had dinner at Bella Italia.












Coming up....A trip to Lowther

[bjd]

As much as I dislike crowds, a place like a seaside resort looks rather sad when it's so empty.

[tod2]

During the day Blackpool is tame in comparison to the bright illuminations and crowds filling the streets at night. One could walk up and down the seafront all day or sit at a bar - go gambling and loose your money, or think further afield and use the splendid transport to visit some other attractions.
After breakfast we jumped on a tram and made our way to Lytham.





































Back on Blackpools seafront we notice the horse & carriages waiting for customers. The streets are practically deserted as Blackpool awaits the hordes to arrive for the Saturday night Firework display and 6 miles of brilliant lights along the promenade.




































Next: Blackpool at it's brightest....

[htmb]

A very interesting report so far, Tod. I especially like the first photo of the roller coaster, and the carriages are certainly unusual. The look like they were meant for Cinderella.

[tod2]

In front of the hotel entrance was a nice little courtyard with tables and chairs, screened from any breeze by a perspex barrier. This was ideal for our pre-dinner drinks before we set off on the tram again for Bispham and the biggest fish and chips I've ever seen - no wonder they called the portion size 'Moby Dick'! I know it wasn't cod and think we had haddock. Very nice too.













This time the restaurant was packed - a long line of customers were waiting to go in and we had nearly three hours before the firework display. Finishing our dinner in good time we caught the tram back to the hotel and took up position looking in the direction of the North Pier.
























It was a great evening - weather could not have been better! Happy families walked and chatted gazing at the lights. They were absolutely amazing.






The Fireworks lasted a good 25 minutes and were very visible from where we were sitting.



Time to head back to London....The next morning we say goodbye to our friends at Manchester Piccadilly station and arrive at Euston in plenty of time to walk down to St.Pancras and take the Eurostar to Paris.







That brings me to the end of our month long holiday!

[Deleted]

I am determined to visit Blackpool some day because it has always fascinated me.

Two of the more recent reasons were 1) David Tennant's illumination inauguration in 2007:



And 2) the film Bhaji on the Beach, which takes places in Blackpool.



If anybody wants to see the full movie, it is available on YouTube:

[tod2]

Nothing as exciting as a police escort for us...but we were travelling in a very nice jaguar and of course the lights had been turned on by Peter Kay some weeks earlier.
I wish I could have seen what happened when David Tennant actually got to Blackpool! Must have been a close shave...

This is for you Kerouac - just to convince you to get to Blackpool in late August or even September when the Illuminations are on. I would suggest you also go when the fireworks competition is on for 4 weeks in a row.
It's free and an added attraction.

[Deleted]

That's an extremely long roller coaster ride. Usually they last barely more than a minute.