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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASAHow can you not get swooped up in all the fun this place has to offer
Blackpool is one of those places that seems to have it all. Wether you're after amusement parks and circus shows, or drag queens and Wurlitzer organs. Maybe it's why 20 million people visit every year.
In fact, because of this, the Lancashire town is doubling-down on its attempts right now to be named the UK's City of Culture for 2029, which will be announced later this year. The town has been drawing visitors since the railway arrived in the area in 1846 and was considered the place to be for Northern tourists seeking a cheap and cheerful break away before trips abroad became the norm.
With this in mind, I headed on over to Blackpool for a brief two-night visit with my mum, my nephew and niece to try and cram in a few things we hadn't done before to see just how strong the case for the 2029 bid could be. We stayed at the Hotel Sheraton, which is a little further out from the hustle-and-bustle of the main Prom, but it benefits from it.
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The family-run hotel has a number of accolades to its name, including multiple World Luxury Hotel Awards and last year received a Recognition of Service Excellence (ROSE) Award from VisitEngland. Awards aside, the 109 bedrooms come in eight different styles, ranging from standard rooms to all-out suites.
Me and the two kids stayed in a Club Class Room that is perfect for families with one king size bed and a single bed. Other rooms can fit families of up to six. The room we had was super spacious with lots of storage space, a walk-in shower and had a TV, a kettle and hot chocolate kits for the children, which was a lovely touch.
The hotel, on Queen’s Promenade, is situated directly opposite a historical part of Blackpool which I've only now become familiar with. The Grade II-listed Cabin Lift was built back in 1930 as a way to transport visitors down to the lower cliff level of the promenade. The red brick landmark has been closed since the 70s, but the lower part of the area - easily accessible via a ramp - now hosts a go-kart track, which is quite bewildering in itself due to its unique positioning right by the sea.
Car parking spaces are limited on the front of the promenade, but there are a number of car parks around the hotels (the one we used charged £7 for 24 hours, which wasn’t too bad). But if you’re staying around the Promenade and the main part of Blackpool, stick to the trams.
For us, the hotel was right outside the Cabin stop and meant we could hop on right to the Pleasure Beach in about 25 minutes with services around every 15 minutes (a family day saver for the tram of two adults and up to three children costs £15).
Our first port of call was to the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Arena for an evening performance of the Hot Ice Show XC, something we’ve never watched before. Celebrating a landmark 90 years of ice skating at Pleasure Beach, the show features 31 world-class skaters and specialist acts - including former Olympians as well as national and international champions.
The two-hour show, which includes a brief interval, is a gripping marvel of a theatrical performance featuring everything from Herculean gods, foxtail showgirls (some costumes feature up to 11,000 hand-picked rhinestones) and even splashy baths. No expense was spared.
I can’t say I kept up with much of a storyline other than it was celebrating 90 years, but I was surprised at how much we all enjoyed it. After watching it, my nine-year-old niece told us she now intends on being an ice skater instead of a police officer. It's a definitely worth a visit if you have a free evening.
The next morning we headed on over to Blackpool Zoo, somewhere we haven’t been for a few years and which just keeps undergoing a massive transformation. About 30 minutes away from the hotel, the zoo is home to elephants, tigers, red pandas, penguins, and kangaroos, as well as a Lemur Wood you can walk through which is home to Shelly, one of the world's oldest red ruffed lemurs.
The 37-acre zoo has just recently opened a major £500,000 upgrade to its outdoor giraffe habitat, called the Kidepo Trail, which triples the size of the space, adds an extended upper walkway and new Savannah-style soundscapes and lookout points. It’s great to see the giraffes up close, with lots of land for them to explore.
As part of its long-term role in international breeding programmes for endangered species, the zoo has also recently welcomed a number of new arrivals including the birth of a rare Asian elephant calf, Zaiya, who we were able to see making her way through the legs of her parents as they covered themselves in mud and broke sticks.
Other recent additions to the zoo include giant anteater pup, three endangered king colobus monkey babies, a critically-endangered cotton-top tamarin, and last year it welcomed some baby Magellanic penguins (who are adorable) as the only facility in the UK to house the species.
The zoo is huge and can take hours to properly visit all of it - there’s some 1,000 different animals to see. It does get busy at the weekends and during holidays, but there’s lots of spots where you can break away from the crowds and do your own thing. It’s also a popular picnic spot for those looking to save a bit of money, but there are plenty of shops and cafes around too - just watch out for the pesky gulls who will try anything to steal your chips.
After a long day at the zoo, we headed back to the prom for a bit of fresh air and some ice cream (and a pint for me) before sprucing up for an evening meal at the hotel. Breakfast service - which includes a choice of fresh fruit, yoghurts, and cereal, as well as the choice of the likes of Full English, Eggs Benedict, and Sausage Sandwiches - allows you to pre-order the evening meal in advance if you know what you’re after, but there’s no pressure to do that.
The three-course menu came with an expansive choice of dishes. For starters, the grilled goat’s cheese was a big crowd-pleaser with us, and it was delicious with its red onion chutney and toasted walnuts all on a sliced baguette.
For mains, I went for the rump of lamb, which came with dauphinoise potatoes, roasted carrots, tenderstem broccoli and a minted gravy. The lamb was cooked to perfection, was super flavoursome and the honey-sweet carrots, and the gravy made it a real show-stopper. My niece and mum went for the honey soy garlic-glazed salmon, which came with pak choi, roasted new potatoes, and tenderstem broccoli. It was an equal crowd-pleaser, and was well-cooked with an abundance of sweet and fresh flavours. My nephew, who is notoriously a fussy eater, was able to order from a kids menu where he got chicken goujons, beans and chips. He was just as impressed with what he had.
For dessert, I opted for the sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, which was a sweet, sweet delight. The kids got three scoops of ice cream, whilst my mum enjoyed the ‘light yet rich’ lemon posset, which came with wild berries and a homemade shortcrust biscuit.
We hung around in the restaurant for the evening's live entertainment which included a performance of soul music from local band Soul Station - who got the guests up on the dancefloor as they ran through a number of timeless classics.
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast again before checking out, and went for a little stroll around Blackpool. We had plans that we needed to head back home for early-on, but had planned to venture into Blackpool one last time for a quick visit to the Pleasure Beach, but we realised we had timed it badly with a charity fun run taking place, which meant the prom was closed off for traffic and was super busy.
But having visited Blackpool before, we have ventured up to the dizzying yet stunning heights of the Blackpool Tower, ventured around the impressive £13m Showtown museum celebrating the town’s heritage and entertainment history, and taken on the likes of Valhalla and Wallace & Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic at the Pleasure Beach, which is also home to the newest addition AVIKTAS, which hurls riders some 138 feet upside down.
We've also seen the spectacle of Mooky and the crew at the Blackpool Tower Circus, whilst some of us (me) have even shuddered in their boots through the Dungeons in the past - which is a fun trip if you're amongst some thrill-seekers who can handle the risk of things, and people, jumping out at you.
Blackpool is a special place and it is also one of those places where you can find something to appeal to everyone. Whether it’s rollercoasters, giraffes, ice skating spectacles, or just a breath of fresh sea air - and it’s still bringing in families throughout the year. Regardless of whether it successfully becomes the UK's City of Culture 2029 or not, this will still be the case.
Blackpool travel fileAdam and his family stayed at the Hotel Sheraton (FY2 9RP). Rooms start from £47 per person per night here.
Tickets for Hot Ice XC, which runs until September 10, range from £5 to £25 here.
Tickets for Blackpool Zoo start from £22.94 online for adults, and £18.69 online for children. Under-three's go free. You can save 15% over the summer on adult and child tickets by purchasing online at least two days in advance to your visit.
Blackpool Tourism's Ultimate Ticket gives guests entry to six iconic attractions - The Blackpool Tower Top, Sandcastle Waterpark, Pleasure Beach Resort, Madame Tussauds Blackpool, The Blackpool Tower Dungeon, The Blackpool Tower Circus - over the period of 90 days. Normally £65 per person, it has been reduced to £56.88 until September 1 as part of the Government’s Great British Summer Savings initiative. More details via VisitBlackpool.
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