Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Forest of Bowland. And Lancashire is also one of Britain's great foodie destinations,
with many top-ranking chefs settling here to make the best of the superb local produce
in their creative cuisine.
Essentials
GETTING THERE
Trains to Blackpool from London Euston require at least one
change, at Preston (also in Lancashire) or Manchester, and take a little over 2
3
⁄
4
hours
or more (around £74 for a round-trip). From Manchester, it's about a 1
1
⁄
4
-hour trip.
Direct trains from Liverpool take just under 1
1
⁄
2
hours; from Leeds it's 2
1
⁄
4
hours.
Direct
National Express
buses (
&
0871/781-8181;
www.nationalexpress.com)
from London take 7 hours or more, with some requiring a change at Manchester,
about 1
1
⁄
2
hours away. There are also direct buses from Leeds, taking about 3
1
⁄
4
hours.
Blackpool is just over 4 hours northwest of London by road, mainly via the M1 and
M6, about 1 hour northwest of Manchester, 1
1
⁄
4
hours north of Liverpool, and about 1
1
⁄
2
hours west of Leeds.
Blackpool International Airport
(www.blackpoolinternational.
com), just south of the town, has links with a dozen or so other European destinations.
Trains from London Euston to Lancaster take just under 2
1
⁄
2
hours; at Lancaster,
you can change for Morecambe, about 10 minutes away. There are some direct trains
from Leeds to Lancaster (about 2 hr.) and Manchester (just under 1 hr.). From Liv-
erpool it's about 1
1
⁄
4
hours, with at least one change.
Lancaster is 1
1
⁄
4
hours north of Liverpool and about 1 hour northwest of Manches-
ter, with direct National Express buses from the latter (1
1
⁄
2
hr.). For public transport
in the area, see www.lancashire.gov.uk.
VISITOR INFORMATION
Blackpool Tourist Information Centre,
1 Clifton
St. (
&
01253/478222;
www.visitblackpool.com), is open Monday to Saturday 9am
to 5:30pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm.
Lytham St. Annes Tourist Information Centre,
67 St. Annes Rd. (
&
01253/
725610;
www.visitlythamstannes.co.uk), is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm.
Morecambe Visitor Information Centre,
Old Station Buildings, Marine Road
Central (
&
01524/582808;
www.citycoastcountryside.co.uk), is open April to
October Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm; rest of year
Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5pm.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Lancashire's tacky take on the Northern Lights, the
Black-
pool Illuminations
(www.visitblackpool.com/site/illuminations), bedeck the resort's
promenade from late August or early September to November each year, featuring
hundreds of neon figures (illuminated using green electricity, some from on-site wind
turbines). Of course, this is a cynical ploy to extend the resort's season past summer.
Blackpool is a mecca for ballroom dancers and their fans, with five festivals a year
(
&
01253/625252;
www.blackpooldancefestival.com); the longest-running and
most famous is the 8-day Blackpool Dance Festival each May, which featured in the
Jennifer Lopez movie
Shall We Dance?
Exploring the Area
BLACKPOOL
A bit like Las Vegas with a Victorian twist, this unremittingly tacky resort is centered
on the U.K.'s biggest single tourist attraction, the theme park
Pleasure Beach
(see
below). Beyond that, Blackpool has a promenade served by antique electric trams, 7
miles of rather insipid beaches (with donkeys to ride), three piers, and a surfeit of
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