Costa Del Blackpool

We went over to Blackpool with some friends yesterday and had quite a night. We didn’t set off from here until about 2.30pm and arrived in Blackpool sometime after 5pm to be met with traffic queues and full car parks.

While queuing, we passed big billboards saying how cool it was that they had closed a big car park to make way for a new adventure playground. I’m sure it will be nice when it’s done but at the time, I couldn’t help thinking that someone was taking the piss!

We were in two cars so try to get them both parked up somewhere was a nightmare and after 40 minutes of looking we decided to go round an round until we found somewhere. Our friends got parked up straight away while we carried on with the search. We did another two laps, waving to them as went past them ..lol.. We finally found a spot behind the pleasure beach and set off walking back down the promenade to where our friends had parked.

So there we were, 4 adults and two kids, all walking crossed legged looking for a place with food, seating and a loo ..lol.. We found a lovely little restaurant with a table big enough for all of us and we all enjoyed fish and chips cooked to perfection.

When we emerged from the restaurant, the illuminations had been switched on but so had the rain! At least the wet weather cleared the crowds a little as we walked along the golden mile looking at all the lights which look like new ones for this year.

One thing we both hate about Blackpool is that where at other coastal resorts they have one armed bandits in arcades, here they have mobile bandits with two arms yielding a card, screaming “come and have a go it’s free”. Soon you learn that saying “no thank you” or “we’re not interested” just doesn’t cut it as they try ushering you into their trap and despite normally being very polite, the response soon becomes “it’s not free so piss off!” and that usually works.

By the time we got back to our cars, we were all drenched from head to toe and ready to get in a nice in front of the fan heater. The traffic was heavy coming out of Blackpool for miles and didn’t really clear until we hit the M62. Climbing over windy hill it was really misty and we were struggling to know exactly where we were, feeling tired and ready for bed.

Needles to say, we both slept right though last night and it was nice not to be waking up with the sunrise at 6.30am for a change. We’ve been over to see Dad today before doing a bit of shopping, so now we’re chilling, totally bushed and ready for a drink!

Paul