Visit Blackpool by Mouse
Blackpool is a resort town in Lancashire on the Irish Sea, 239 miles northwest of London. Think Coney Island writ large,
very large, with all sorts of amusement areas and theme parks in clumps along the very long, straight street that runs from
one end to the other; a boardwalk with many benches upon which people can sit and view the goings on on the damp sandy beach (which
becomes extremely wide at low tide); donkeys taking people for rides up and down the beach; piers with huge ferris wheels
or roller coasters perched on them reaching way out from the boardwalk. Some reach across the wide sand and way into the
water. There is a ballroom with a large ironwork tower above it. Trams constantly deliver people and take them away
from tram stops along the boardwalk. The streets are congested with lines of automobiles. Everywhere there
are crowds of people. Multi-colored flags and banners wave from poles along the sides of and across the main street and
then become stars of multi-colored lights at night. Blackpool is a very exhuberant place. So glad that we did not
miss it.
Bath was built for aristocrats, but Blackpool had the other folks in mind--the working classes--especially the
mill workers who worked in the industrial north of England in the 19th century. But, really, anyone who is not a snob would
still find things to like in Blackpool.
A street that runs parrallel with the main drag consists almost entirely of buildings
that rent rooms. They look like boarding houses, many with small stained glass windows dotting their facades. All look
like quite comfortable digs for a short stay at the beach. But don't think that those who visit come to swim. We noticed
in our ambles up and down the beach that there were almost no people in the water. We asked an elderly couple--retired
and on their annual pilgrimage to this resort--why there were so few swimming. "Oh, Dearie," said she. "Water's
poison, you know. Can't swim in it or it'll kill you." We certainly do not know how authoritative this observation
is. But if you go to swim, it probably will be a good idea to check with the local authorities.
There is plenty to
keep you occupied even if you do not swim. The Blackpool tourist information site lists four pages of attractions.
