Blackpool - I probably wouldn't recommend it
Discussion
Just back from Blackpool and a stag do.*. First (and I suspect last) visit.
f
k me, what an absolute sthole.
Points of note:
The classiest, least repellent pubs were Wetherspoons.
There is a deeply uncomfortable mix of falling-over drunk people and families by midday.
"Family Bar" shouldn't be a thing.
"Kids eat for free in the Casino" really shouldn't be a thing.
Two streets back from the prom looks like the set from Escape from LA.
Two streets back from the prom at night is Escape from LA.
I may not be the best parent in the world, but when I see two heroin addicts having a fight at 11pm, then 30 seconds later, see a Dad and his ~10 year old son walking around, I do question WTF is going on in some people's heads. It's bad enough seeing families in pubs mid-evening, surrounded by hammered stag and hen parties.
So, if you were thinking of visiting, I probably wouldn't recommend it. If you live there, you have my sympathies. I'm sure there are nice bits, but they're bloody hard to spot in a forest of neon, infant pick-pockets, drug-ravaged zombies and large groups of men and women dressed as sailors, or gnomes or crayons or whatever.
The Lifeboat Pub, on the other hand, was utterly welcoming, if you like that sort of thing.
.*. Yes, I know I'm part of the problem. #irony
f
k me, what an absolute sthole.Points of note:
The classiest, least repellent pubs were Wetherspoons.
There is a deeply uncomfortable mix of falling-over drunk people and families by midday.
"Family Bar" shouldn't be a thing.
"Kids eat for free in the Casino" really shouldn't be a thing.
Two streets back from the prom looks like the set from Escape from LA.
Two streets back from the prom at night is Escape from LA.
I may not be the best parent in the world, but when I see two heroin addicts having a fight at 11pm, then 30 seconds later, see a Dad and his ~10 year old son walking around, I do question WTF is going on in some people's heads. It's bad enough seeing families in pubs mid-evening, surrounded by hammered stag and hen parties.
So, if you were thinking of visiting, I probably wouldn't recommend it. If you live there, you have my sympathies. I'm sure there are nice bits, but they're bloody hard to spot in a forest of neon, infant pick-pockets, drug-ravaged zombies and large groups of men and women dressed as sailors, or gnomes or crayons or whatever.
The Lifeboat Pub, on the other hand, was utterly welcoming, if you like that sort of thing.
.*. Yes, I know I'm part of the problem. #irony
Robertj21a said:
I don't think anyone has suggested that there's anything wrong with the prom, or the piers, or Pleasure Beach etc. It really is everything else, just 1-2 roads inland/the town area itself.
No no, I was. Just to be clear, the prom was awash with drunks, addicts and feral kids looking to pick your pocket. The toilets were overflowing with st, which was then running across the prom. The piers I went on were run down, stacked with geezers alternately hawking their stalls and chatting up 14 year old girls. There was some dodgy pick-up blasting dance music up and down the prom while his poor <10 year old daughter was looking miserable and getting slowly deafer. This was midday. I can't speak for the Pleasure Beach because I didn't go, but I imagine the 300 yards and (mainly) the entrance fee will make all the difference
otolith said:
There are many problems in Blackpool, mostly to do with local deprivation and a tourist industry which operates at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, but I'm not sure that I'd call it "unsanitary".
When I ran along the prom early on a Sunday there was piss and st leaking from a set of toilets and piss and puke all over the place. It stank.Wacky Racer said:
You know what you are getting when you go there.
Here's the thing, I thought I knew. I didn't. It was far, far worse. And that was after I'd done Google streetview on our hotel parking and went directly to Halfords to buy a disclok for my steering wheel and a car cover to avoid unwanted attention. Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff