Destination: Blackpool
Britain’s most popular seaside resort may have a dark side but, for a nine-year-old more used to bucolic Lantau, Blackpool is a place of wonder. Words and pictures by Tim Pile
“It doesn’t get better than Blackpool,” exclaims a breathless schoolboy in a commercial currently airing on British television. It’s an ambitious claim but one that tourism chiefs in Tahiti are unlikely to lose sleep over.
Blackpool is a survivor, enduring shifts in taste, competition from foreign hot spots and decades of negative media attention. The legendary English beach resort has a long history of bouncing back from criticism with another makeover, new attraction or rebranding exercise.
The town first flourished in the mid-19th century, when Lancashire millworkers started visiting on day trips. Over time, the brief outings became week-long holidays when the mills closed for annual maintenance.
Scots, particularly from Glasgow, and factory workers from West Yorkshire began to test the limits of Blackpool’s carrying capacity.
These days, “the Las Vegas of the North” attracts fewer tourists than in its heyday, between the world wars, but remains Europe’s most popular “bucket and spade” resort.