Tag: seaside

The Best Afternoon Tea In Blackpool

Once again, today’s article looks at things to do in Blackpool. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sun came out a bit and so it was an ideal time to go up the famous Blackpool Tower. It would be rude to go to the Tower and ignore the opportunity to have an afternoon tea in Blackpool at arguably the best spot – The Tower Ballroom – home of Strictly Come Dancing.

The view from the 518 ft tall tower (158m).

Before I took the lift up to the top of the tower, I had afternoon tea in the well known Blackpool Tower Ballroom. The BBC show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ comes here every Autumn for one of their special shows. The ballroom is historic and known as the HQ of dance, where national and international competitions are held.

It was lovely to take in the atmosphere of this architectural marvel whilst eating cheese, egg, cucumber or salmon sandwiches and plenty of slices of cake. These included eclairs, chocolate brownies, shortbread and Victoria sponge slices. The spread that they put on for us was mouth-watering and indulgent but absolutely hit the spot.

Couples waltzed around the hall as we ate, whilst the Wurlitzer organ pumped joyous music into the room.


A Bit Of Local History

After this we watched a 4D short film which showed the history of making this incredible tower and drew attention to other landmarks within Blackpool itself. I was pleased that they had chosen a song by Kylie Minogue to accompany this brilliant immersive movie. We were blown around, sprayed with foam and had to withstand a vibrating floor as we enjoyed it.

Overall, the day at the Blackpool Tower and ballroom was lovely, quaint and ended with beautiful views of the eventually sunny surroundings and relentless sea, which extended into the distance towards the Isle of Man.

Side note: Blackpool is a traditional seaside town in the north-west of England and was popular for shows during the Vaudeville era. Stars such as Julie Andrews started their careers performing there. It is now the most popular seaside resort in the UK.

If you want to read a little poem I wrote about the seaside, click here.

Seaside Days

This week my blog posts may deviate from the normal ones because I am staying in Blackpool for a few days. Hopefully I should get some reading done too, as I love taking a story with me on holiday,

Weirdly Britain is having a few weeks of crazy rain and windy storms but I am determined not to let that ruin my getaway. It is just another sad sign that global warming is altering our local climate markedly.

Although these pictures are dark and moody, I felt really happy to be back at the seaside resort I last visited in 1993.

Blackpool tower was based on the Eiffel Tower.
Trams have been around since Victorian times in one form or another.
This very traditional North Pier still has a theatre at the end serving musicals and comedy.

I may pop a few interesting pictures on once I have settled in. Thanks for checking out my blog.

Bring Your Own Weather

The weather always tells a story,

Sometimes shining full of glory,

Other times it clouds us over

Makes us gloomy and, moreover,

Brings that sticky kind of air,

Darkens our lives but should we care?

We won’t let the weather dictate,

The way we live and shroud us with hate,

Let’s give some love whatever the weather,

Embrace the storms and hail and never

Get bogged down in doom and gloom,

When sunny smiles can fill any room.

Who needs sunshine every day?

If jokes and laughter help us stay

Positive and on the go,

Let’s look forward to winter snow,

Celebrate our wondrous weather,

And if the sun does come, well… whatever.

We don’t need a sunny day to make us happy anyway.

Cloudy skies don’t dampen good times. They merely enhance them.