So here we were in Blackpool, or
rather just outside Blackpool in Bispham, and today was to be spent exploring
the town. To get our bearings, we started with a drive from one end of the
illuminated Promenade to the other. Obviously the lights are not switched on in
daylight, but we could see that they were quite extensive, not just up lamp
posts and draped across the road, but free-standing displays by the side of the
road. Also, buildings themselves were bedecked in lights, so it must be quite a
sight when it gets dark. This is the last week of the illuminations, which were
first switched on at the end of August, and will finish next Sunday.
Illuminations by daylight (not my picture)
The DG had never been to
Blackpool before, and I have been there just once before, when I was 14, and my
mother brought my brother Andy, my sister Yvonne and I to Blackpool. We came by
coach from London, and stayed at a guest house near the centre of town. I have a photo
somewhere of Yvonne holding the Blackpool Tower in the palm of her hand, one of
those carefully posed photos that kids like.
Blackpool Tower (middle section under repair)
Funnily enough, my most vivid
memory of that time was that Mum allowed me to go and watch Blackpool F C play on Saturday
afternoon. The ground was a short walk from where we were staying. They were
playing against Cardiff City and won 3:2. The legendary Jimmy Armfield was
playing for Blackpool, and John Toshack scored for Cardiff. It’s funny what you
remember from 46 years ago. Another strong memory is of the illuminated trams
going up and down the promenade. There seemed to be dozens of them, covered in
lights making them look like trains, or boats and I really thought they were
amazing. I was looking forward to seeing them again.
Blackpool FC Stadium
Bispham station, where we joined
the Promenade, is where the lights begin, and they continue for about 5 miles,
past the Tower, along the Golden Mile, and end at the border with Lytham St
Annes. The Golden Mile is the part of the promenade between the north and south
piers, and is the area where most of the amusement arcades, entertainment and
souvenir stalls are to be found. Everywhere there are signs telling us that
driving along the promenade during the illuminations season will be subject to
serious delays, because of queues, but in daylight at least, the road was very
clear. We thought that when we come back in the evening we would catch one of
the trams, which we have been advised are all accessible, to see the lights.
The trams go the whole length of the Promenade, and actually continue
northwards past Bispham as far as Fleetwood, another 7 miles or so.
A bargain
The Tower was one of the main
attractions for us, and it was a beautiful clear sunny morning, so we decided
to go straight there after our drive along the Promenade. Parking was
surprisingly easy in one of the side streets, where cars with disabled drivers
or passengers are allowed to park free for up to 3 hours. We had a good
breakfast in a Wetherspoons pub directly beneath the Tower, and thus refreshed
we went up the Tower. Going up the Tower isn’t just a case of getting into a
lift, you have to purchase an ‘Experience’, so we paid £12.50 each for the
‘Blackpool Tower Eye. This included a 4-D Film viewing, which was very
impressive, making you feel like you were flying along the Promenade and across
the sea. The 4-D part of it was that you got sprayed with water when the film
showed rain falling, or when your flight took you close to the waves on the
sea. It was good fun.
North Pier from the Tower
From there we headed upwards in
the lift to the viewing gallery at the top of the tower. Because it was a bright
day with blue skies the view was superb, looking up and down the coast, and
inland towards Manchester. It was a bit hazy out to sea, but we could clearly
see a big wind-farm off the shore. I wondered whether you might see the Isle of
Man on a clear day. The most scary thing up here was the Sky Walk, where you
could walk across a clear glass floor and look down several hundred feet to the
Promenade below. What was worse, the window you walk towards was polished so
clear, that there seemed to be nothing there, so it wasn’t for the faint
hearted. The DG and I were both brave enough to walk out across the glass,
although several others chose not to. There was a spiral staircase taking you
further up, which I took and found myself in the open air, apart from netting
to stop me falling (or jumping) off the Tower. I was glad to come back down to
the safety of the viewing gallery.
View from the very top
The other big attraction at the
Tower is the famous Ballroom, with its Wurlitzer Organ which rises up from below the stage. This was made famous last Century by Reg Dixon, the renowned
organist, whose name was synonymous with Blackpool Tower. In fact I noticed a
road named after him near the Tower. We decided to treat ourselves to afternoon
tea in the Tower Ballroom, and what an extraordinary experience it was. The
Ballroom was like the most ornate theatre, with a central stage, and gold
painted theatre boxes going up all the walls. The tea area was on the far side
of the ball room from the stage, and in between a tea dance was in progress, to
the sound of music from the Wurlitzer organ. It was an amazing sight, and
seemed like a throwback to more genteel times of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Dancing in the Tower ballroom
The Wurlitzer Organ
As we sat enjoying our tea,
couples were spinning around the dance floor, doing waltzes, foxtrots,
quicksteps and who knows what else. It was amusing watching the different
styles, and different levels of skill, of the dancers. There was a couple in their teens, and others covering all age ranges. Some took it all very
seriously, and went through the steps with a a look of grim determination on
their faces. Others were clearly enjoying themselves with permanent smiles on
their faces. Then again, others spent the whole time watching other dancers and
copying their movements, to be sure they got it right. Clearly there were some
who dance to competition standard, whilst others were just happy to have a go.
If you just sit and watch, as we did, you see all of human life out there on
the dance floor.
Afternoon tea in magnificent surroundings
On the way out we just had to
stop in the arcade beneath the Tower and play some slot machines. You don’t
seem to win money any more, but tickets. We both did very well for these
tickets, which kept being pushed out of the machine, like the old-style bus
tickets. After about 20 minutes we had about 150 of these tickets between us,
and went to try and cash them in. We had no idea if they were worth £150 or
£1.50, but I wasn’t holding my breath. It transpired that we couldn’t cash them
in for money at all, but could exchange them for prizes of varying values. When
we looked in the kiosk it was apparent that good prizes, like electronic
equipment, for instance, would cost over 5,000 tickets. Our 150 tickets
purchased a soft toy, which we thought we would take home for Daisy.
Arcade gaming machines
It was late afternoon by the time we left the
ballroom, giving the DG just enough time for some shopping, whilst I went to
admire the beautiful architecture of the Winter Gardens, which I would describe
as Art Deco in style, and which is very well preserved. When shopping was
completed, we headed back to the Hotel for an hour or two before coming out
again to see the lights.
Our original idea was to park up
somewhere near Bispham Station and catch a tram (preferably an illuminated one)
from there to take us up and down the Promenade. Two things caused us to change
our minds – firstly it was now pouring with rain, and secondly we could not
find a parking space very close to the Station. So we decided to deploy Plan B,
which was to simply drive along the Promenade, whilst being prepared for long
queues.
Illuminations
In the event, traffic along the
Promenade wasn’t bad at all, as obviously most drivers had heeded the dire
warnings. So we set off at 20 m.p.h. (nobody else was going any faster, apart
from taxis) and saw the illuminations in all their glory for the first time. There were cartoon characters, sea creatures,
Halloween characters draped across the road, and tableaux of daleks, spacemen
and tropical islands alongside the road. It was clear that sections of the
illuminations were sponsored. For instance an area along the Golden Mile was
sponsored by jewellers, and the lighting was made to look like glittering
jewellery, diamonds, necklaces and so on. It was very effective. Another area
was obviously sponsored by McDonalds, and there were ‘Golden Arches’
decorations along a stretch of road. And so it went on, for mile after mile.
There was so much, both overhead and alongside the road, that even driving at a slow speed it was difficult
to take it all in.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
The only disappointment for me
was the illuminated trams. It could be that my childhood memory is playing
tricks on me, but I recall loads of lit up trams passing down the Promenade,
some designed as trains where the train wheels actually seemed to go round.
Tonight we saw just two illuminated trams, and got a close look at one of them,
which was decorated like a locomotive, with tender and carriage, which seemed
to have been sponsored by a television company. It was very impressively
decorated, although the train wheels didn’t go round (maybe my memory is
mistaken). If there were others, they weren’t out that night, all the other
trams in service were unilluminated.
Rear of illuminated tram.....
........And the front
When we had had our fill of the
lights we went to park and look for somewhere to eat. To our surprise we couldn’t
park where we did earlier as only taxis can stop there after 4 p.m. so we were
forced to park in a multi-storey. It was one of the tightest I have been in.
Being unable to find a space on the 1st Floor, it needed a 3-point
turn to get up to the next floor. I managed it, although not without difficulty, but after I
parked up and went to get a ticket, I heard a crash of two cars coming
together, accompanied by car horns sounding and some shouting. Obviously someone
else didn’t quite make the turn successfully. I can only imagine that this must
be a usual occurrence in that car park.
The Car park
We found a buffet-style Chinese
Restaurant, surprisingly called The Chinese Buffet, which was very good. In
fact it put me in mind of one of my favourite Restaurants, the Shanghai in Staines, also a buffet, where you can choose from large numbers of dishes on
offer. The big difference in Blackpool, however, is that outside the kitchen it was staffed almost
entirely by local white people, as was the Indian Restaurant we went to in
Southport. I know I once worked in a Chinese Restaurant (another story
completely), but usually I would expect them to be staffed by Chinese people.
Things seem to be different in Lancashire.
Chefs at work at The Chinese Buffet
Having dined very well at the
Chinese, we headed back to the Hotel for a well-earned night’s sleep. We felt
that we had ‘done’ Blackpool by this time, and thought we would go somewhere
else tomorrow, the last day of our trip.
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