There’s something disorientating about parking beneath the soaring loop of the UK’s tallest rollercoaster.
But since Blackpool’s uber-luxe Boulevard Hotel (styled as BLVD) is owned by Amanda Thompson, whose family have run the Pleasure Beach amusement park for four generations, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that guests leave their cars within touching distance of The Big One.
What’s more of a revelation is that this Lancashire seaside resort — a traditional semaphore for chip shops, slot machines and bawdy entertainment — has a very different side.
Of course the so-called Golden Mile, a lung-buster of family attractions such as Sea Life, Madame Tussauds and Coral Island as well as Blackpool’s three piers, still draws in the crowds. While the Pleasure Beach is one of the UK’s most visited tourist attractions (Boulevard guests can access it via a VIP entrance).
But to box in Blackpool as a 3D saucy seaside postcard is to miss so much about its heritage.
Angela Epstein visits Blackpool (pictured) where she explores its heritage sites and learns about the town’s future plans
Certainly, there are plans to attract a more discerning visitor. Marco Pierre White is even opening a restaurant here. Of course, the most obvious expression of the town’s heritage is the Grade I-listed Blackpool Tower (recently in the news for a fake fire, which turned out to be orange netting).
Opened in 1894 and soaring 518ft, it’s half the size of the Eiffel Tower, which had inspired Mayor of Blackpool Sir John Bickerstaffe to commission the project.
It’s hugely impressive. On the one hand, you’ll find the oak, mahogany and walnut wooden ballroom designed by Victorian architect Frank Matcham plays host to daily tea dances. But take a lift to the summit for a panoramic view of the Fylde coast and a chance to squeal in fear when gingerly stepping on the 5cm-thick glass viewing platform.
Above is one of Blackpool’s vintage trams, pictured along the promenade
Blackpool’s Comedy Carpet (pictured) is a huge piece of artwork that features jokes, songs and comedy catchphrases
Outside the tower, we browse a huge grid of public art. Known as Blackpool’s Comedy Carpet, it immortalises and celebrates the jokes, songs and comedy catchphrases of Britain’s most well-loved comedians and writers (some better than others). Meanwhile Showtown, a new museum showcasing how the town became a hub for bright lights and entertainment, will open next month.
The genesis of Blackpool’s tourist heritage began with the expansion of the railway network in 1840. Following this came the building of the three piers, the tramway and the illuminations (which by the time Princess Louise — the town’s first royal visitor — arrived in 1912 to open a new section of promenade named after her, totalled around 10,000 lights).
As we put our shoulder to the brisk wind coursing in off the Irish Sea we found another vestige of Blackpool’s past on its lengthy promenade. Five curved bays of Grade II-listed colonnades, which join other listed buildings including The Grand Theatre, as well as the cast-iron promenade, most of which are more than 100 years old.
Angela stays at the Boulevard Hotel, which lies beneath the UK’s tallest rollercoaster
Above is one of the rooms at the Boulevard Hotel, which Angela describes as ‘uber-luxe’
Even in winter there’s no getting away from the lights and colour.
So, for a more genteel diversion, we head to Stanley Park — designed by Thomas Mawson & Sons in 1922 — to admire its bandstand, Italian gardens, art deco cafe and boating lake crested by ornamental bridges.
Back in the comfort of the BLVD lounge, we enjoy the strangely therapeutic view of unforgiving brown waves curling up towards the beach. Clearly, Blackpool is trying hard to serve all tastes. And, like the fake fire at the tower, all is definitely not what it seems.
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Blackpool rocks! Inside the coastal town brimming with old-fashioned seaside pleasures – and how it’s trying to attract a more discerning visitor…
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