When people go there on holiday I just think why....

[soleenq]

Am I missing something? I live in the NW and don't think I could ever go there on holiday. I'm low income so can't afford a lot with a toddler but I don't know why there is an attraction.

Ainu?

Blackpool - the really crap-looking Pirate-themed pub on one of the piers, into which my husband and I fled to escape teeming rain, served the best pint of pub lemonade I've had in decades at an astoundingly cheap price.

Is it still open? 🤔🤣🤣

Well going by this thread it still seems popular 🤷

Because it's got a significant concentration of activities that lots of people like, in a small area, whilst being within easy distance of the large cities where the people of the north west are concentrated. And some people don't let proximity to social deprivation put them off.

Agree though with the pp who said it's not cheap. It is all very Tesco voucher/Groupon-able though. There's scope to do a lot in a short period if you're careful and plan properly.

It really boils my piss!

I've been to Blackpool once since the 1980s, a couple of years ago - it was in late autumn, to see the illuminations primarily. The aforementioned lemonade was the highlight of the day 😆. The illuminations weren't as good as I remembered from the 80s. There were dodgy-looking people hanging round outside the toilets on the seafront, which was discouraging.

Different strokes for different folks.
I live in a small town near Blackpool so I see it from a nearby resident's perspective.

I go to Blackpool because my family obsessively love rollercoasters. It is particularly good if you have a thrill seeking child between the heights of 1.3m and 1.4m. The BPB hotels are not bad really.

That is the long and the short of it.

Can't think of anything more boring and even worse if it rains!!

I went to Blackpool 25 years ago with family as a teen.

We had a lovely time, went swimming at the Sandcastle, went to the Pleasure beach, played on arcades, watched a circus show and climbed the tower, rode the trams, watched an ice show. We walked along the promenade and ate fish and chips.

It always made me want to go back but I’ve heard such terrible things about it that I think it’s best left in my memories.

I’m not sure if it’s got worse in the last 25 years or if it was always bad and I just didn’t notice because I was a kid.

I went back to Bournemouth recently and was horrified how run down and shabby it has got. The city centre seemed full of very dodgy looking people (think emaciated toothless drug addicts) sitting in boarded up doorways and loitering and pestering you for money.

It made me feel sad as I have such lovely memories of being a child and taken to Bournemouth in the 1970s. It seem like such a twee, architype of an English sea side town back then.

If someone here is from Bournemouth, please explain what has happened?

You need to get out more ... there are some stunning places in the north West of England.

I could say that about London (where I live).
Tourists love it but when you live there it just become a place where you live and you notice the bad more than the good.

Best ever response to someone saying that they were going on a walking holiday was my wonderful grandma, and it wasnt sarcastic!

She looked puzzled and said "Why dont you catch the bus?".

I was howling because a walking holiday wouldnt be my idea of fun either!

I think it’s a shit hole but I know my toddler would bloody love it. I may relent by but would just be a very short trip

I have family ties to Blackpool. Whilst it is run down, I still have affection for parts of it!

Agree. I've been on the Orient Express and to 5 star hotels. Blackpool is much more fun!

I live near Blackpool. I've had some really good days out there. Yes, some areas are awful. Some nights there are lots of drunk people which can be intimidating. But, there are plenty of good attractions and miles of coast line. There are some really nice beaches away from the centre.

If I lived closer I would actually like to go again.
Maybe one day 🙂

When we were based in the NW we used to go there a couple of times a year as kids. In the '70's. Usually for the Illuminations. Loved it!!

Wouldn't go there now if you paid me. Its decline is really sad. ☹️

Yeah but at least you can swim in the sea on the Norfolk coast.

united utilities keep dumping crap into the sea off the fylde coast so swimming’s off the agenda.

Blackpool is a shithole i agree, but its popular with lots of folk.

I know someone who always put their nose down when we take the kids to caravan park holidays, we did 2 weekend breaks in a Haven in Lincolnshire and Lake District and 1 eurocamp in France. Our kids were so happy and grateful and we made lots of lovely memories.
This person called these sort of holidays tacky and all. The thing is she hasn’t taken her kids on any holiday in the UK or abroad and they’re now teens. Basically she won’t go anywhere that’s not a 5 star resort and since she can’t afford that, she’ll rather not go anywhere. But I would rather have the break I can afford and that will be memorable be it in Skegness or in Blackpool, I don’t care. Memories don’t have to always be positive but if it’s nice, we just don’t go there again. I’ve been to Blackpool and just like many places in England, it’s run down but there’s still lots of fun things too which is what we focus on

I know a few people that have been to Blackpool on holiday, simply because they have never been to Blackpool on holiday and want to see what it’s like. I don’t know anyone that has gone more than once.

Does it still have that amazing ride like a roller coaster thing with horses. It may have been called the Grand National? I loved that