AIBU to think a holiday to Blackpool would be fun?

[Flowersandbirds]

So we have a week in October half term to fill. We don’t want to go abroad as we need a cheapish week.

2DCs aged 2 and 6. I think a few days in Blackpool would be fun - illuminations, funfair etc. DH is being v negative and thinks it will be a bit rubbish - tacky, crappy hotels and sod all to do.

AIBU or would it be a fun holiday in Autumn?

Just seen the updates. Im assuming youre going to stay away from the nightlife with a 2yo and 6yo.

What about Scarborough as a compromise? No illuminations, but less of a downmarket reputation.

Indoor waterpark, Peasholm Park, beach, amusements, sea life centre, near to North Yorkshire Moors and Dalby forest with hiking and biking trails and Go Ape.

It's a great place if you want to put a bet on, buy something for a pound, get something from a charity shop, give to beggars or if you love unofficial street art.

Big blue hotel is lovely. Expensive but worth it.
Look at the visit Blackpool website, there are some good deals on there.
I am firmly in the love blackpoom camp. 😊

How about staying here to avoid Blackpool tack? Its great. In Poulton but approx half hour drive to Blackpool.

Or stay lytham st annes way to avoid tatty tackiness.

Butlins would be fun for kids. Cala Gran is Fleetwood end and a caravan park.
Most people i know just get a cheap travelodge type placefor a couple of nights

I took my 13 year old last October half term, stayed at the Premier Inn.

On Saturday evening we walked the whole length of the illuminations, stopping off at each of the piers and for fish and chips on the beach, and got the tram back. We were out from 6 until about 10.30pm. Didnt encounter a single out of control stag or hen party, no vomiting or fighting, no prostitues.
We had a great time. Yes its tacky and frayed round the edges, but its good fun

An afternoon maybe for the kids but a holiday would be my worst nightmare.

It's a shithole and an expensive shithole at that

I'd prefer Kent I think - you could do a day in Margate for the pleasure beach type stuff but also do Camber sands or Botany Bay for the sandy beaches with less tackiness. Dover castle or Leeds castle (great play area for kids). Towns like Rye for nice historic buildings and cream teas. That said the kids are tiny you'll probably have a laugh anywhere!

It's awful. Serious drug & alcohol issues. As someone else said, there are so many lovely places to visit in the U.K, why choose somewhere so grim?

I’d worry about the state of the mattresses and exposing little ones to very drunken hen and stag parties. I’d find somewhere nicer, I think.

Don't do it, go to Brighton instead.

And I'm from Southport so have some loyalty to the area, it's changed a lot in the last 30 years since Ieft.

Isle of Wight is good for cheap and for little ones. Very sweet funfair in Ryde. Black gang and Robin Hill for bigger days out. Beautiful beaches. Lots of tackiness but also beautiful countryside and good restaurants.

Rye & Camber sands are not in Kent

Blackpool has had huge investment to try and improve it. It’s tacky but if you stay at the Blue you can have a roller coaster fly past your window. Fun for the children?

The tower has had investment also, glass walkway, improved shows. I wouldn’t go out at night though.

I’ve not been for a few years but have a friend with a business there and they are all working so hard to improve it.

We went when I was a child and I remember it being very exciting, all the lights and the Pleasure Beach. Your kids will love it.

Blackpool is great!

I loved going there for Autumn half-term when I was little. As an adult you can see how tacky and shabby and run down it all is, but as a child it was magical (to me and my brothers at least).

There is definitely no shortage of things to do. My favourite memory is cycling along the seafront in the dark on hired bikes/trikes looking at the lights and racing the trams.

Go Whitby - beach, amusements, fish and chips

Im no Blackpool lover. I left at 18 and visit infrequently. However since i had the dc and i live about an hour away its really come into its own as a place to entertain dc. I wouldnt drive hours to get there but then again im not enamoured of long drives elsewhere in the UK when i could be abroad. I CBA taking them to say Margate. I like the south coast but its too far and weather not reliable compared to getting to say Spain.

How far are you driving OP?

Not impressed with the slagging off Blackpool is getting as a family destination. Fine if youre southern dont come. If youre northern, have at it!

We go several times a year, to visit family. If you're out during the day/early evening, you won't have too much trouble with stag or hen nights, but it is pretty run down in places.

Tower and circus are worth doing, Pleasure Beach (we usually get a wrist band for youngest, and just entry passes for eldest and us. You get the train ride included, and can pay for rides individually).

We often walk from the Tower to South Shore, via Coral Island Amusements, and get the tram back. Don't try and drive the lights, either get a tram or, better still, walk the north end and turn get chips and hot chocolate.

We tend to spend one day in Blackpool and then a day in the hills (Beacon Fell etc), or we pop up to Fleetwood. If you are driving, you can get a Premier Inn just outside and drive in for the day.

Blackpool's really tacky but it's quite fun. 1/2 days will probably be enough though!

The further north you go, the quieter it is at night ime. When we don't stay in Fleetwood, we usually go for a B&B in the North Shore area.

I went a few years ago and stayed in the Hilton. Immediately opposite the hotel there was a tunnel ramp thing to the beach that stank of urine and there was a sign up that said “violent crime has occurred here during the day and night”. Nice !

We usually go and see the illuminations in autumn but I certainly won’t be returning for a holiday in a hurry.

I live in st annes, just a couple of miles down the coast and I avoid Blackpool if I can
I will go for shopping if I have to but avoid it in the evening if I can
There is a lot for families to do but it's not cheap and it's always windy

But, the rooftop bar at spoons is very pleasant on a hot summers day