Base Camp Journal - Blackpool

Robby and I made the five hour journey to the CMC site in south Blackpool. The weather was surprisingly bright and mild for late-October, even as the storm finally crossed the Atlantic and reached Britain, bringing 70Mph winds with it. Autumn had obviously arrived earlier up north, because most the leaves had gone from the trees.

Blackpool’s promenade is several miles longer than the one in Brighton, and it has a North Shore and a South Shore, and three piers. There’s nothing much at the South Shore, except for the Pleasure Beach and a seemingly endless row of hotels that appear slightly dilapidated. Everything worth visiting is past the South Pier, such as bars, casinos, arcades, souvenir shops selling the usual stuff. There’s a thriving high street and shopping arcade behind Blackpool Tower also. The promende is far more alluring at night, because of the famous illuminations.

We only experienced the storm on the Sunday. It was blustery for most the day, and the sea was exceptionally rough. From the pier, Robby and I watched the powerful currents moving steadily towards the shore, and felt the waves hitting the struts of the pier a couple of times. By the time we left The Flying Handbag, late that night, the worst of the storm had reached us. We were sandblasted in the gale force winds, which we fought against while hunting for a taxi. The storm had passed completely by 05:00 the next morning.

Blackpool Tower

The base of the Blackpool Tower is a large, red stone complex that houses a ballroom, a few arcades and other amenities. There was once an indoor garden, according to the literature.

We spent a couple of hours in the famous ballroom - apparently even the organ players are minor celebrities, and the ones we saw playing are very talented. I’m not sure I like the decor, though. A huge amount of effort must have gone into painting and rennovating the place over the decades, but the dull gold-coloured paint, coupled with the maximalist design, makes it look a bit tacky.

The tower itself is only ~400ft tall, but on the platform at the top, through the rust-coloured girders and netting, there is an impressive view for tens of miles. Even the Douglas Complex oil rig, just off the coast of North Wales, can be seen.

Bars, Clubs, Nightlife, etc.

There’s no shortage of places to go drinking around Blackpool, and I think we did a bit too much of that. The night life is even better in Blackpool than in Brighton.

Drag artists, which seemed the main entertainment in the bars on the other side of Blackpool Tower, aren’t really my thing, unless they’re very good comedians with a dark sense of humour, so initially I wasn’t that enthusiastic about visiting Funny Girls. It turned out Funny Girls was very different to what I expected. Essentially a theatre company took over an old theatre building, and they run a bar there while performing. How original is that!?

My favourite bar is probably The Flying Handbag, just because I have a preference for establishments that are slightly quieter, but are still lively. Sometimes it’s loud, and sometimes it’s not.