To wonder if blackpool is as bad as they say?

[Chefpig]

I'm hoping to plan a short break somewhere and blackpool is cheap. Is it as bad as people say though?

The Blackpool dungeon is probably the favourite thing my youngest has ever done on a holiday. He still talks about it.

Yes I’ve never been anywhere apart from little villages where there is no homeless people, drugs etc

They may call but the police would probably not bother doing anything about it.

Yes, York is bad with stag and hen parties these days, but the rest of the time, during the day, during the week, it's still a lovely place to go, lots of shops and attractions, and very little dereliction/decay. Blackpool has obvious/open street crime, drug dealing,etc 24-7 as well as lots of burned out/derelict shops and boarding houses almost everywhere.

People do like to exaggerate don't they?

My family went to Blackpool last year, principally for the pleasure beach but also for the tower etc. It was absolutely fine. Yes, it's a bit run down and yes it's popular place for stag and hen parties but at no point did we feel unsafe or about to get lynched.

If you are going with a family you are going to stick to the touristy bits and won't be out of at 2am anyway, but that's true wherever you go.

It was also packed when we went so clearly lots of people feel the same. The Gruffalo Experience had no obvious drug use or sex workers. The kids were off their faces on fruit shoots though.

It's worse.

We were there during the fireworks world championships, and it was packed, to the point that the trams couldn't run because there was so many people.

It was absolutely fine. I would happily bet that half of the people commenting on this thread haven't even been to Blackpool recently, if ever.

That's the thing that got me about it it - it was such a weird mix of obvious drug dealing, stag party lairyness, people off their faces on drugs and alcohol (this was 7 o'clock at night) and kiddies riding their tricycles up and down the prom with their families.

Nor Tunbridge Wells. Where I live I would not go into town on a Friday or Saturday night. I would happily do so in Blackpool!

I go to York frequently and I always leave by 6 as the atmosphere changes. Never seen anything during the day though.

Working class holidays were ever thus

I'm astounded by the snobbery on this thread. Blackpool is fine. Fun and thrills as it has always been. If little Zygotia saw a bit of real life in Thailand their darling parents would be waxing lyrical about travel broadening the mind. But Blackpool is the wrong kind of "a little bit poor" apparently.

I lived in Cleveleys growing up and always enjoyed going into Blackpool.
It's sad to hear that it is now so deprieved.
I went to a Northern Soul night a couple of years ago in Blackpool and it was brilliant!
Also went to a show with old school friends and it was very edgy and funny.

I have lived in Margate as an adult and it has poverty in the town but also money has been spent developing the sea front etc.

Blackpool sounds like it has been overwhelmed and needs a reset demographically.

Sadly seaside towns have had a raw deal generally.

If you want to go OP, I echo another poster and suggest you stay somewhere like Cleveleys and go into Blackpool on the tram during the day.
The kids will love it- but take warm coats if you're going at half term!

Come on! It's a shit hole. But you can still have fun in a shit hole.

I don't think it does Blackpool many favours to deny this - because it's relevant to anyone who lives there and it's relevant to anyone who visits in terms of expectations and frankly keeping safe at times.

I personally have had good trips to Blackpool.

I've had a good time in York before but also felt it insufferably pompous and stuck up and full of miserable entitled knobheads, which is at the complete other end of the scale.

But it's not a shithole or unsafe, it's a fun family holiday destination enjoyed by 10000s families per year, I walked around alone at 11pm and didn't feel unsafe

@Zoopet oh you definitely get extra points for going to a Northern soul nite
I'm a dyed in the wool Nsoul nut 44+years.😁

I never thought it was a shithole.

I think it is a shit hole, but not unsafe.
I've walked from the tram to my B&B several times, at midnight and didn't feel unsafe, I've also been out at pubs on my own and had a great time.
It does smell, is run down and I wouldn't recommend it.

Just to add to my earlier post, I just remembered (this thread is bringing back all sorts of horrible memories from that weekend) that we went into the lounge of our hotel for a nightcap, and a family at the next table had a baby, about 8 months old. The baby was sitting on its father's knee and he was holding a pint glass of lager to the baby's lips, and encouraging it to drink, and the rest of the family were pissing themselves laughing.

We had just come in from a traumatic evening where we walked along the promenade and we were wearing long black coats, some boys were shouting at us 'fucking London snobbish cunts' (how did they know we were up from London? and they threw 20p coins at our backs!

We went into the nearest restaurant for something to eat and to get away from them, my friend went to the ladies, came out and said 'don't bother, we're leaving'. She said the cubicle was covered in shit, walls, floor, all over the toilet itself.

I go into Blackpool often for evening theatre shows or a nice meal as I live locally . It's perfectly safe! I've never felt scared at all. There are some good restaurants and excellent shows at The Wintergardens and Grand Theatre. Yes there are some rough streets but that's the case with most UK towns

Ive been 3 times in my lifetime and don't expect I will ever go back. It's run down and tatty but we saw a great Pantomime at Twixmas. We had a walk around Cleveleys which was quite pleasant. The modern trams are efficient and not expensive. It depends what you want tbh. The company we were with more than made up for the towns shortcomings.
I equally dislike Skegness and also Paignton. I prefer wild seaside or at the most a village by the sea.
If I was choosing a resort then Scarborough, Llandudno, Eastbourne or Weymouth would be a better choice.

I agree actually- The Grand in particular has some fantastic productions, and St John’s square is lovely.

Thought this was rather inciteful from the Telegraph (of all places)

"My rating: 9.5/10
Popular but spurned, rich and dirt poor, Blackpool is, and always was, all things to all people.
The town evolved out of an unplanned sell-off of land by various lords of the manor, and was destined to be chaotic. The Golden Mile and Pleasure Beach are latter-day versions of the free-for-all fête that once took over the strand.
As the new Showtown museum reveals, the modern seaside mass-market holiday was invented here, as was much of the light entertainment and comedy that dominated the small screen for decades.
You can eat well (the Wok Inn is superb), drink well and party well here but neither the prom in a gale nor the back streets after dark are for the faint-hearted. It’s a UK one-off. An obligatory stop once every decade if you want to know your nation and yourself."

We stayed as a family of 4 (kids 9 & 11) at Ribby Hall for a week last summer. It was a lovely resort with loads to do.

Not far from Blackpool so we went into town a few times through the week and had a great time. The Pleasure Beach, the sandy beach itself, the piers, the big waterpark place, Madame Tussauds, going up the top of the tower, all the arcades, the zoo, the huge park next to the zoo, etc.

Yes it's naff and tatty, but everyone knows that already. I would thoroughly recommend it, but equally I wouldn't stay in Blackpool itself or wander about at night time.