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WELCOME TO
JEWEL OF THE LANCASHIRE COAST
Midi Playing: Can't help falling in love
IIn 1602 entries in the Bispham parish baptismal register mention "de Poole" and "de blackpool", at that time a collection of cobble and clay huts spread along the coast near to the "Pool". However, by the end of the century a number of the landed gentry, led by the Tyldesleys of Foxhall, had settled in the area.
By the 19th Century Blackpool saw rapid development as a major resort for the industrial working classes of Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1801 the towns population stood at 473, only a century later it had reached 47,348.
Many of Blackpool's most famous attractions were built in the second half of the nineteenth century including, North Pier(1863) Central Pier (1868) South Pier (1894) the Tower (1894), the Grand Theatre (1894) and the gigantic wheel at the Winter Gardens (1896) the Pleasure Beach (1905) and Stanley Park (1926).
Blackpool was also the first place in the world to have electric street lighting in 1879, with the installation of the electric arc street lighting system.
The Tower, Blackpool.
Blackpool's famous landmark, the Tower, celebrated its centenary in 1994, and has recently been restored to it's original glory after a £13 million transformation. The Tower has way down below its 518 feet needle - Tower World - seven levels of fun and entertainment for all the family, including the Dawn of Time, a stunning animatronic ride that takes you back through the entire history of the Earth, from dinosaurs to astronauts. There is also the famous Tower Aquarium, and Jungle Jim's adventure playground plus the Tower Circus, indoor entertainment for all the family, which even the great British weather cannot spoil!
The famous ballroom Wurlitzer.
The Tower Ballroom, famous for its Wurlitzer Organ, and the beautiful interior, make dancing come alive.
Tower Ballroom
A late starter as a resort, Blackpool soon made up for lost time. In the 1840's it was just a village, but the arrival of a railway branch-line provided the impetus for creating a major resort along this strand of sandy beach. Ever since then the town's main concern has been to find more and more way of entertaining visitors, who number more than 15 million per year.It was in Blackpool, for example, that the first sticks of seaside rock were made, their success assured by having"Blackpool"written all the way through.
tThe Golden MiletttTT
Brash, brazen and bustling, Blackpool wears its heart on its sleeve; there is nothing subtle about the attractions of thePleasure Beachand the celebrated Golden Mile. It is noted, as Stanley Holloway used to sing, "for fresh air and fun", and those who want their pleasures to involve "white knuckles" will not be disappointed. When the sky turns leaden there are as many amusements under cover, including the attractions at the base of the famous tower and the fascinatingSea Life Centre. Here visitors can view marine life at close quarters, including a walk through the largest shark display in Europe. For fans of soap operas there is a fantasticCoronation Streetcomplex where visitors can walk down a copy of the actual Coronation Street , take part in a scene in the corner cafe,and have it video-taped for you to take home, plus lots, lots more to enjoy.
The Winter Gardens.
The Winter Gardens, home the the world famous Opera House, where artistes from all over the world have graced its stage, in this, the biggest theatre in Britain. Architects have crammed the sprawling 4.5 acre site with bits and pieces from dream palaces of a dozen ages and cultures. Vast yet full of intimate corners, the Wintergardens is partly Tudor England, partly Strauss's Vienna, partly Seville in its golden age, partly ancient Rome - in fact, this is Blackpool, simply fantastic!!
Famous artistes hold a special place on the Winter Gardens plaque situated at its entrance,George Formby,Vera Lynn,Gracie Fields,Ken Dodd,Morecambe and Wiseand many, many, more have graced its stage.
The Grand Theatre.
Opened on July 23, 1894, Thomas Sergenson, Blackpool's first successful theatrical manager, it had taken just nine months to build at a cost of £20,000.
The Grand was the first Blackpool theatre to present the twobig musical hits of World War One -The Maid of theMountainsandChu Chin Chow- and in the 1920's becamenoted for staging big American musicals likeRose Marie,TheDesert SongandNo No Nanette.
Great stars graced it's stage like Evelyn Laye, Carl Brisson, Cicely Courtneidge and Jack Hubert in the 1920's, and the most famous in the 1930's was Gracie Fields, famous for her signature tune "Sally"
All through the 1950's and in spite of the growing impact of Television,Ralph Richardson,Michael Redgrave,Alistair Sim,George Cole,Evelyn LayeandMargaret Lockwood, could be seen here.
Holidaymakers in the 1950 to
60's would laugh at the comedy favourites
likeArthur
Askey,Thora
Hird,Hylda
Baker,Sid
James, and many
more.
The mid 60's saw more and more theatres across Britain closing down due to the loss of audiences to television, but theGrand survived longer than most thanks to the backing of the Tower Company, but eventually due to declining ticket sales, the Grand was forced in to a policy of winter closure from 1963.
Redevlopment threatened the Grand Theatre, but the theatre was listed as a Grade II building and in 1973 the 'Friend of the Grand' was formed to resist any redevelopment and with the local authorities help, saved.
(To read more of the Grand Theatre click the link below)
The Sea Life Centre
Situated on Blackpool's Golden Mile the Sea Life Centre houses one of the largest marine collections in Europe, with the Tropical Shark display as the dramatic centrepiece. In its underwater tunnel, you're surrounded by the oceans' greatest predators, including sharks up to eight feet long. The Coral reef with its brilliant and eye-catching inhabitants, is a constant delight. View the venomous lionfish, devil scorpions, the manacing moray eel and a host of other toxic terrors from the safety of the Underwater Reef Observatory. In addition there are more than 70 species of native sea creatures to marvel at, among them octopus, seahorses, stingrays and conger eels. At the touch pools and Sealab you are free to pick up and handle many kinds of marine life, such as crabs and starfish (under expert supervision).
The famous Blackpool trams.
Officially opened on September 29 1885, Blackpool's World famous trams have come a long way since those early days. Stretching for 12 miles along the Promenade, the Blackpool electric trams range from finely restored cars from ages past to customised feature trams during the Illuminations. No visit to Blackpool is complete until you have experienced the pleasure of riding the Golden Mile on these non-polluting forms of transport, and for even more pleasure continue your journey through Cleveleys and on to Fleetwood.
Blackpool from the air
Stanley Park.
Stanley Park, a little more than a mile away from the noisier coastal trappings, is Blackpools own green oasis, a secret garden, where colourful floral carpets have been laid across nature's floors.
Stroll through pathways galore and relax in its many and various quiet corners. Gaze at the fountains in the Italian Gardens, admire the perfumed glory of the Rose Gardens or take a stroll down to the lake and visit the beautiful serene swans, the geese and ducks welcome you, especially if you have come to say hello with some bread with you!
Play crazy golf, tennis, pitch and putt, or crown green bowling. Take out a rowing or motor boat and cruise the lake in all its beauty.
Stanley Park Lake
There are Restaurants, Cafes and ample car parking facilities and a full day out at the Park will do it justice. Visit the delightful Model Village which fires the imagination of all ages as they peep at the goings-on of life in a scaled down, but believably bustling community.
Blackpool Zoo
Only two miles from the Promenade and you would find animals in perfect surroundings, open air enclosures allow both animals and visitors the ideal environment to enjoy each others company. This well designed Zoo informs all its visitors upon entering the timetable of events, feeding times, special shows etc, and where to find each species. With all the favourites, lions, tigers, apes, giraffes, elephants this is a vast and well looked after zoo, were the animals look happy. Just take a stroll to the sea lions enclosure and watch their antics at feeding times, then follow that up with a talk from the elephant keepers and an show were the elephants are taught to play, but at the same time, are going to tasks that use all their muscles, thus keeping the fit and healthy.
When the feet get tired there are Restaurants, cafes, and ice cream parlours that the weary visitor can relax amongst carefully planned and well groomed lawns, although you may be asked to donate food to the wandering ducks and peacocks, .....they will do the asking.
Elephants exercises!
Its a zoo where you love to watch the animals, and they love to watch you .
Come and visit, you won't be disappointed!
Big Wheel, Central Pier.
Boasting three magnificient Piers, Blackpool has amongst its finest attractions, the North Pier, nearest to the Tower, the Central Pier with its vast BigWheel, and the South Pier. The North Pier is famous for it's theatre and top-class seasonal shows, Restaurants, shops and bars, amusements, and also a small tram to take visitors to the endof the Pier, but I find that you miss the pleasure of walking down this beautiful Pier, or if you fancy a rest, sit in the deckchairs provided and watch the full length of the Golden Mile go by.
The Central Pier has all the same variety as the North with the addition of the Giant Ferris Wheel, sit in one of the gondola's, and on reaching the top you will have a magnificient views of Blackpool
The South Pier as the other two have amusements, cafes and bars, and rides catering mainly for children. Until recently the South Pier had a theatre but that has been replaced by a mini roller coaster.
The Golden Mile from the South Pier.
The bustling Golden Mile will offer you everything and more with cafes, restaurants, hundreds of shops, selling anything from saucy T-shirts to Blackpool cheeky postcards.
Walk on the coast side of the Mile and you can see all what's happening, move over to the other side of the trams tracks and you are amongst a vast army of visitors, being coaxed and conjoled into visiting the vast array of sideshows, the sights, sounds and smells you will enjoy as you eat your hot-dog, hamburger, fish and chips, candyfloss.
Everybody else is doing it...so why not you, this is what makes Blackpool so special, let your hair down and enjoy your visit.
Blackpool town centre has a well established shopping centre boasting most of the major retails names and is fully designed to offer an excellent selection of shops and multi-storey car parking. With plenty of pedestrian precincts and undercover arcades your shopping turns into a trip of pleasure.
Blackpools Pleasure Beach
InIlluminations
From humble beginnings in 1879 when just eight arch lamps bathed the Promenade to present day when over 500.000 lamps on 80 kilometres of festoon strips between promenade poles and across the carriageway bring the whole of the Blackpool seafront to life in glorious twinkling lights and fascinating tablaux of wonderment.
The illuminations begin in September and last for 66 days attracting over 8 million visitors and that is in addition to the 7-1/2 million at other times.
With 500 scenic designs and features, and a total of sixty large tableaux each more than 10,200 square metres in surface area this brilliant wonderland of twinkling, flashing lights will bring over £200 million to the resort during the illuminations.
The dazzling display runs a total of six miles from Starr Gate to Bispham and will shine non-stop for 66 nights from the 3rd September to the 7th November. The scale, density and content of the lights has improved year by year and the devlopment of new ideas and new themes is continous. In particular the use of electronic controllers, fibre optics, non-neon and lasers has added a new dimension to the fabulous autumn crowdpuller.
SIZE="+1"
Pepsi Max Roller Coaster.
rth or journey back to the days of the dinosaurs during a cruise through the River Caves. There is a Log Flume for adults and also a junior version for children, with lots of kiddies rides in Funshineland. Take a white-knuckle ride in the Sony Playstation - where people are shot 300 feet into the air!!!
In fact there is something for everyone, from the romantic Tunnel of Love, the breathtaking Ice skating spectaculars taking place in the Theatres on the complex, International Circus, top cabaret in the new Paradise Room, Restaurants, cafes, bars, disco, ice skating, with over 150 other great rides and attrractions or just to just stroll through this mass of entertainment, and to watchand listening to the shrieks of laughter and joy that make you want to return again and again to Blackpools Star attraction.
Whilst most other holiday resorts begin to close down for the season Blackpool gears up for a major influx of visitors. The famous illuminations, along seven miles (11.3km) of sea-front, bring a touch of Las Vegas to the country's biggest holiday resort.
If you want fresh air and fun....come on , visit BLACKPOOL!
Britains
Fun Palace
YOU WILL.............IN BLACKPOOL!
>
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Date Last Modified:
31/07/09
