Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cheap restaurants, guesthouses, and amusement arcades. Blackpool is said to have
more hotel and B&B rooms than all of Portugal.
The resort does have its charm, if you approach it in the right frame of mind. Depend-
ing on your tastes, central “attractions” are the landmark
Blackpool
Tower
(see below),
a
Madame Tussauds
waxworks museum (
&
0871/282-9200;
www.madame
tussauds.com/blackpool), the
Sea Life
aquarium (
&
0871/423-2110;
www.visitsea
life.com/Blackpool), and
Sandcastle Waterpark
(
&
01253/343602
); www.sand
castle-waterpark.co.uk), which includes some Aztec-themed slides. If it's culture you're
after, don't despair—the
Great Promenade Show
(http://greatpromenadeshow.co.uk),
an outdoor exhibition stretching just over a mile along New South Promenade, features
artworks commissioned from established and emerging artists to celebrate the resort's
natural and man-made attractions. One,
Desire,
is inspired by kiss-me-quick and holiday
romances and casts a shadow of a broken heart on the ground; others come to life at night.
East of the promenade, you'll find another congenial spot in the form of historic
Stanley Park
, with a golf course and crazy golf, a boating lake, tennis courts,
bowling greens, a playground, and an Art Deco cafe hosting live jazz on Sundays. The
park is also home to
Blackpool Zoo
(
&
01253/830830;
www.blackpoolzoo.org.uk),
with its new £1-million sea-lion pool, and
Blackpool Model Village & Gardens
(
&
01253/763827;
www.blackpoolmodelvillage.com), with its miniature buildings.
Not far south of Blackpool,
Lytham St. Annes
is a genteel alternative to the larger
resort, formed by the merging of two neighboring towns and globally famed for its
golf. Of its four courses and links, the Royal Lytham & St. Annes (www.royallytham.
org) is a host of the
British Open
(www.opengolf.com).
Blackpool Tower
ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX Built in 1894 as a
half-size version of Paris's Eiffel Tower, this famous structure houses a Victorian
ballroom, a circus, and an indoor adventure playground, but as the guide went to
press they were scheduled to be joined by the
Blackpool Tower Eye,
a new obser-
vation experience on the uppermost level, with a 4-D Cinema Experience, and by the
Blackpool Tower Dungeon,
with live actors, a scary ride, shows, and special
effects.
Promenade.
&
0844/856-1000.
www.theblackpooltower.co.uk. Admission ballroom, circus, and play-
ground £12 adults and children (individual tickets available). Opening times vary by attraction; see website.
Pleasure Beach
THEME PARK Dating back to 1896, this vast theme
park is now home to 125-plus rides and attractions, from world-famous white-
knuckle thrillers including the Pepsi Max Big One and Valhalla to gentler rides for
young kids. New in spring 2011, the 12-ride Nickelodeonland includes the interac-
tive SpongeBob's Splash Bash. There's a surprisingly chic in-park hotel (p. 598).
Ocean Boulevard.
&
0871/222-1234.
www.pleasurebeachresort.com. Admission 2-day unlimited ride
wristband £45 adults, £40 children 2-11, or various passes available. Easter-Nov, with hours varying by
season; see website.
OTHER LANCASHIRE HOTSPOTS
Most of the rest of Lancashire couldn't be more different from Blackpool, although
there is another theme park, the medieval-themed
Camelot
(
&
01257/453044;
www.camelotthemepark.co.uk), at Chorley east of Southport, with rides for all ages,
jousting tournaments, wizardry displays, a farm, and a new-in-2011 birds-of-prey and
animal center. See the website for the complex opening days and times; entry costs
£24 for anyone over 1m/3ft. 4in tall. There's more family fun of a very different nature
a few miles west at Burscough (back toward Southport), at the
WWT Martin Mere
15
