My parents took my brother and me here for our birthdays, 1960's. Loved the golden mile and the pleasure beach, rock, fish & chips, wasted 18teen year old women vomiting in the trams.
I have lived here my whole and life and love some aspects of Blackpool but unfortunately a lot of areas are very run down and there’s a big drug problem here. I was shocked when your video popped up and you had visited us… you seemed to enjoy it which was great to see!
I'm glad you've done Blackpool. The old girl is battered and bruised but full of optimism, love, and opportunity. There are more food and drink options than I can remember, and the rough-and-ready charm is part of its attraction. I love doing days out where I visit Lytham for food, St Annes for drink, and then Blackpool. It's a lovely part of Lancashire
As someone who lives in Blackpool I do get asked a lot “I bet you go down the promenade all the time” well they are shocked to find out we very rarely go. Days out tend to be more up the coast towards st Anne’s and Lytham. Which I’m sure you both would enjoy. Enjoyed your videos as always.
As a Mancunian growing up on a council estate, a day out on a coach to Blackie was a staple of my childhood, and it really brought my wider family together as we all went as a group. Even then, you knew it was a bit rough around the edges, but we weren't made of money, as my Dad used to remind us. These days, as an adult with a family of my own, I hold a very 'love-hate' relationship with the place. My girls adore a ride through the Illuminations, and it gives me opportunity to wax lyrical on my childhood, but it isn't a place I like to spend a whole lot of time in. The lights of an evening; the typical jingles that sound out of the 2p machines as you walk past; the blended smell of candy floss, doughnuts and fish & chips in the air - the nostalgia hits you! Then you notice the 24/7 binge-drinking culture; rowdy Stag/Hen parties making spectacles of themselves in the street; the run-down establishments, and you promise yourself you'll give it a miss next year...
There's a saying in the uk when theres lots of lights turned on in the house, most mother's would always say turn the lights off its lit up like blackpool illuminations in here 😂
I grew up in Blackpool and admit it now looks a bit run down. BUT it’s an open air museum in so many ways. The Pleasure Beach (which would have been closed during your visit) has wooden coasters dating back to 1923. The Tower opened in 1894. The trams are iconic. There’s a world famous ice cream parlour called Notarianni (which would also have been closed).
I love watching your vlogs every Sunday evening UK time here! I always enjoy them and your almost at 70K subscribers which is amazing! Keep up the great work and Blackpool here in the UK is on my visit list for sure!
Blackpool gets a bad rap sometimes because of the stag and hen do crowd, you can have a really cheap and boozy experience in Blackpool if that's what you want. But Blackpool also has some really nice upmarket places to stay and cool bar/restaurants etc. And if you go further up the rd outside of Blackpool there are some really posh places but that being said if you go a few streets back from the front there are some really bad places. What it boils down to is you get from Blackpool what you want, cheap and cheerful, boozy and debauched or classy and relaxed.
Hi Guys. Blackpool ❤. It gets a bad rap from many people BUT they still keep going. I love Blackpool, I'm only 40 minutes away. It does suffer from poverty if that's the right word because it's a seasonal resort and in the close down period there is no work. The Illuminations are a way of getting tourists there at the end of season and have been extended to take advantage of the quiet times. There are so many people who haven't been to Blackpool that run it down. It's a fantastic place and I have enjoyed many a time there 🎉😂❤. I think you both enjoyed it 😊. I❤Blackpool.
A lot of people are snooty about Blackpool, often without ever having been there. Like all Victorian seaside towns it's had a rough time over the last 30 - 40 years. The popularity of package holidays abroad did a lot of damage. However, as you found out, you can still have fun there - even more so when everything opens up around Easter until the end of October, when it starts to wind down again.
Blackpool means a great deal to me, as during the 80s and 90s my grandparents ran a B&B and then a chip shop that they lived above. I have so many memories of visiting them and just having the best time in the arcades, pleasure beach etc. Blackpool suffers from underfunding which a lot of our seaside towns do, which sadly is really clear in the surrounding streets. However, it still is such a fun visit!
You guys are nailing British culture, the gravy on your chips and doing the chip butty. And Jezza discovered the British pallet early to be fair with the curry and chips 👏
Thank you for giving Blackpool a go and I think you gave a fair review based on what was open given the time of the year. Pity the tower wasn't open to see the Ballroom and it's Wulitzer Organ in particular. If you do visit again may I suggest Lytham too which is just outside of Blackpool. There is Lytham Hall, Lowther Gardens and Lytham Windmill where you could take a stroll along the sea front. Pity I didn't know you were visiting as I'm not too far away and from my local coastline can see Blackpool and Lytham.
I have great memories of the illuminations in the 80s. The trams were decked out as rockets and other things, and the whole experience felt less half-hearted. It's a shame it's so run-down these days, as the Pleasure Beach has some genuine authentic retro charm
I used to go as a child. it was vastly different. There were always trams that went up and down covered in lights. ut was not run down in the seventies at all. I remember going on the donkeys on the beach and my mum asking if they went any faster, the guy with the donkies slapped the donkey behind and i went racing off across Blackpool sands with my mum running behind shouting for me to jump off. The seven year old me absolutley loved it!!
In the main season, Blackpool is full of people and very busy. Millions visit every year not least for the Pleasure Beach and Rollercoaster Rides, the Tower for the Circus or The Blackpool Grand Theatre. Definitely a buzz about the town. You can also pop up to Cleveleys lots of tea shops or down to Leafy Lytham restaurants, Lowther Gardens and Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club, Open venue where Bobby Jones won in 1926. Blackpool and the Fylde Coast is a great stop off on the way to the Lake District and Scotland 😊
I used to go as a child. It was brilliant then and not run down at all. I remember the miles and miles of trams covered in lights, the old wooden rollercoaster, and riding the donkeys on the beach. i remember my mum asking the guy if they could go faster and he slapped the poor donkey on its butt and off i shot across Blackpool sands with my mum running behind me shouting to jump off. the seven-year-old me loved every minute of it!!
I’m from just down the road in Lytham but I haven’t lived there for 16 years. It looks much the same as I remember it. It was a fun place to be a kid/teen but a pretty deprived area aswell. I’m yet to take my children there to visit but your video made me remember the fun things. 12 year old me spent ALOT of time in Coral Island 😅 I highly recommend going back in the spring/summer. It’s a bit of a ghost town in winter and feels quite grim! The tower ballroom is a thing of beauty and well worth a visit. It feels like you’re in another world. Pleasure Beach is pretty good too. Another good thing for you to do is visit Funny Girls cabaret if you’re stuck for something to do on an evening. It’s a really fun old fashioned drag show in an old theatre that feels very old school glamour x
Thank you for your enthusiasm, it's so refreshing. Blackpool is a nostalgic place for me and my grandchildren love it. You must return and visit the tower, the ballroom is spectacular and the view from the top amazing right across to Wales on a clear day. The tower circus also takes some beating! You are teaching 'us Brits' how to appreciate our wonderful country, thank-you!
I agree. So many places in the UK are viewed better than the British RUclipsrs who visit the same places. A south Yorkshire resident my whole life, I learned through your Sheffield visit about the 'famous' pork sandwich. I don't ever recall hearing about it anywhere else.
It's been many years since I last visited Blackpool - about 35 years! On the few occasions that I visited, I had a very good time. The illuminations were fabulous, the fish and chips were excellent, and the Pleasure Beach rides were top notch.
My family go back at least 500 years in Blackpool and my 4th great grandad was Blackpools 1st Police Sergeant. Blackpools popularity went downhill when the cheap foreign holidays come in but Blackpool still gets 1000s coming during the summer.
My main memories of Blackpool are , being sick at the tower circus (we had a car accident and mum and dad took us to Blackpool to get over it but I was still suffering from shock) but most amazingly seeing Shirley Bassey live in Blackpool in 1963, I remember every detail!
I bet she was at the height of her vocal powers back then. I had her on an Lp once singing live and was impressed with her performance. Come to think of it I will look it up on you tube tomorrow morning. Best wishes to you
Me and my girlfriend book £40 a night hotels by the beach and we have a great time just looking at the lights in winter and having fish and chips and going Into the arcades! Serious sense of nostalgia for me as well as parents took me as a kid. I think most Northerners have been at least once.
We saw Morecambe and Wise in Blackpool back in the sixties. They were fantastic. The piers are terrific. My grandmother loved Blackpool so we often went there on holiday.
I have fond memories of performing at Blackpool Tower. It is definitely a Summer destination. So many of the things I have nostalgia for there, no longer exist. Like the Oyster Bar (selling seafood), Yates Wine Lodge (a huge pub whose speciality was different types of Sherry). The Rock Factory (where you could see it made). I have not been back in years. It has always been a popular spot for a Day Trip. My Grandparens liked to sit in deckchairs on he Central Pier, listening to the Brass Band (I do not know if they still have it) On the beach, the adults would rent a deckchair and wind break. Sometthing very English but sadly no longer, you could go to little huts along the beach and get a tea tray, not just cups of tea but the whole thing, teapot, sugar & creamer, cups saucers and teaspoons and each cup came with a little packet of biscuits. You paid a deposit on your tray to cover any breakages, My Nan would send Grandad for a tray and Nan had her trusty shopping bag which would have sandwiches and cake. Grandad always brought us our own bottle of pop and a straw. No day out or even holiday was complete without a giant stick of rock and a kiss me quick hat. The hat did not have to be the usual black trilby with a band that said kiss me quick. You could roam around all day in anything from a Policeman's helmet to a Viking helmet. My Nan had a knack for seeking out good and inexpensive places to eat and back street gift shops.
I have fond memories of Blackpool, we used to travel over from Halifax for a week during the summer holidays when I was a kid to stay at my Grandma's who lived in St Anns. The highlight of the week was a day on the golden mile via the Pleasure beach. I'm 53 now and a grandfather myself and I took my grandchildren to Blackpool for the weekend a couple of years ago which was the first time I'd been to Blackpool for almost 40 years and it's hardly changed at all. I wouldn't want to live in Blackpool it's got a lot of crime and drug abuse is at epidemic levels apparently but it's a fun place to visit.
This place reminds me of how it used to be at Lake of the Ozarks, in Missouri. Branson is sort of similar. There were carnival rides, arcade games, etc.---and lots of tacky gift items. Blackpool apparently is controversial. Some think it's a tourist gem yet others say "don't go there".
Blackpool was a huge tourist hub when I was younger! I'm now 60 it's very run down just like it's cheaper neighbour Morecambe! Very sad but great for a weekend or couple of days especially in summer. Southerners have Brighton, sw has newquay Yorkshire has Scarborough, London has Margate, etc. there are seaside towns for every area of UK
If you visit any seaside town "out of season" its likely you'll find most places shut as they don't always open "out of season" especially places like the piers or the tower. If its possible, you should perhaps visit Blackpool over the summer months and see if the place is the same or different to your first visit
I have some distant family in Blackpool and had a few holidays there when I was very young. I do remember a lot of rain but the memories are still good.
Have you ever listened to the Morrisey song Everyday is like Sunday? It sums up these faded seaside towns quite welll! This said, I kinda like them, particularly in winter. Please try Skegg vegas next!
Cheap and tacky but it holds a special place in my heart ❤ Blackpool was the first UK seaside holiday I ever went on as a kid and when I eventually returned thirty years later it was like time had stood still. I still love Pleasure Bleach on a nice sunny day and the prawn toast at the Ocean Palace Chinese tastes just as good now as it did thirty years ago! Lol x
You need to go back and spend a day at the Pleasure beach, it has some of the oldest rides in the world along with some more state of the art ones and the worlds first ghost train which is said to be haunted by a real ghost. Also the laughing clown animatronic used to freak me out when I was a kid. We used to go to Blackpool at least once a year growing up as my dad’s pal lived there and we’d stay in his house. It’s a place that’s a bit run down in parts of it now but there’s ffun to be had if you look for it. Blackpool rock is worth the trip alone too! That hotel was a little hidden Jem, Blackpool hotels always had a reputation for being rough around the edges with fearsome landladies.
We typically say 'the illustrations'. We would never describe 'the illustrations' or 'the Blackpool illustrations' simply as illustrations. It's worth taking one of the vintage trams to view the illustrations or a modern tram to see the full length of the illustrations and the northern end's tableaus. Regarding the bread and butter served with your fish 'n chips, you don't need to add the butter. Also, you could have made a battered fish butty as well as the chip butty. 10/10 score for choosing Yorkshire Fisheries. They are the very best place to eat a portion of fish and chips in the whole of Blackpool.
I loved Blackpool when I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s. It was a really magical place for me, I have some fantastic memories. Recently it's really run down and many of the attractions are.no where near what they were. I still like going, though.
Blackpool was just the place to go for many North Englanders as a vacation spot in the 20th century. Very popular back then. But travel to warm places like the Costa Brava with cheap all inclusive air packages took away much of the business - like so many other seaside towns. Then Blackpool fell on harder times and became a bit tacky in my opinion. Yet it hangs on today with some difficulty I have heard.
There so many times as a kid and at that time (many years ago) the place felt magical. Donkey rides, kiss me quick hats and hours of fun at the fair..now it does feel like it’s seen better days and being known as the home of the £1 burger is nothing to brag about I’m afraid. I know you guys know our seaside isn’t all like this and poor old Blackpool has certainly lost its shine
You can get 2 kinds of curry sauce normally. Theres a "fruity" , which has tiny bits of apple in it, and the Chinese style, which is the smooth spicy sort. The latter varies a lot between stores, some are so spicy its just all spice and no flavour. If you go into the store Home Bargains, you'll find Mayflower brand curry sauce for about £1 or so a tub. That is a typical Chinese curry sauce like the chippies use.
Love Blackers, always good fun. However, you need to leave all snobbery behind before you enter. Thank you so much, you really go above and beyond where most American tourists would ordinarily visit. You're the best.
Blackpool as a holiday destination is up there with the best. Once you go back a few roads in to residential Blackpool and get away from the holiday fun, it's there where it gets it's reputation from. Mostly because the council are willing to spend millions upon millions on the seaside half, and are willing to neglect the actual residential areas. It's such a shame. You need to come back to Blackpool in the summer, or definately towards the end of the year when the lights go on and the fireworks display competitions are going on.
Phil "The Power" Taylor - along with Eddie "The Beast" Hall, Stoke's two world champions! Blackpool is a funny place. It calls back to a lot of nostalgia for those of us that grew up within a couple of hours drive. But it's also full of rot and depression just off the promenade.
I think the reason for some of the hate is the stag and hen do's that descend on Blackpool, if you're out when they're about it can feel like a pretty hellish place, unless you're a similar level of drunk. The other factor is that, like a lot of places, there's some area's of serious neglect around Blackpool and some areas of poverty and drug use etc... which wasn't always the case, so some people see that and think the whole place is a shaddow of its former self. However, i will say the people around there, generally, are lovely and always friendly and willing to share what little they might have.
Grew up just down the road.. love Blackpool… though it is a bit run down now. Always windy, but the beach is brilliant and the illuminations are just a treat.. walking along the prom looking at the lights and getting fish and chips along the way. Chip butty.. fab… fish with gravy.. no fab🤣
Hi, I don't know if you know about the history of the piers. The North Pier was strictly for 'Ladies and Gentlemen' who wanted to promenade, the South Pier was for the lower classes and the Central Pier was built to accommodate both classes.
I've never been coz we always went Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby, Scarborough or Filey when I was growing up, but with the general image I got of Blackpool from how people described it to me, it always kind of amuses me that it's apparently referred to as 'the Mecca of ballroom dancing.' Like everything I'd heard about it never really screamed ballroom dancing to me, but it's apparently like a world renowned location for ballroom dancing
Forgot to mention that you should also go to St Annes which also has a pier and Cleveleys and the north pier does have a very old carousel ride and a train that takes you up and down the pier please come back in the summer when more is open
I live here. Seriously, Blackpool is the pits. However, there are 37 seaside towns in England. Blackpool is the most popular staycation holiday destination in the UK. Last year saw visitor numbers pass the 20 million mark. Sure there are more refined and upper crust seaside towns but Blackpool is a breed of its own.
Back in the 90's my two South African friends eloped to Gretna Green & we took them to Blackpool for their honeymoon. We found an old school B&B with candlewick bedspreads, tacky bar, god awful breakfast & shared bathrooms. Fish & chips and bread butter for tea. Poured It down the whole time. It was perfect 😂
So glad you came here and said a lot of nice things about blackpool it gets a lot of bad press wish you could have gone in the tower there is the dungeon the circus my favourite place the ballroom and of course the top of the tower with the glass floor i have lived here for 27 years and i love it you should have gone in the winter gardens you went past and we have lots of shows inc the oldest ice show in the summer its been going for over 80 years
I've watched your videos for a while along with other American peoples videos on visiting the UK and out of all I watch I feel you two should move here then do videos on Americans living in the UK and what to expect and can I just add, living in Sheffield we would love to have you in our city x
I've been to Blackpool pretty often, it doesn't deserve the title of Worse Seaside Town, there are far more boring seaside towns which are half closed for most of the year. I really like Yorkshire Fisheries, glad you tried it for yourself.
I think when you go to seaside towns, there is the seaside town you see as tourists, and there is the reality for people who live there 12 months of the year. In 2019, eight of the 10 most deprived neighbourhoods in England were in Blackpool.
My memories of everything being packed full of people.Great shows, cheap beer, and food. A beach with deckchairs and people, punch and Judy, lots of donkeys, boat rides, fishing off the piers, amusements, pleasure beach, amazing double decker trams.... lots more..... Today, it's the opposite
You should have gone into the Tower Ballroom, I expect that part would have been open. I have been there a few times, as friends have appeared at the different theatres including the ones at the end of the piers. You have small town's at either end of Blackpool as well which are worth visiting. I think like most places it doesn't look it's best out of season, but also probably been hit by a economic downturn from the pandemic. I hope you took a tram through the lights, which again are free to all, it's from what I remember funded by the council and donations from the public whilst visiting. I don't know if you've been down South Southend On Sea has the longest pier it's about a mile or so long. You weren't too far away from Morecambe Bay either which is a similar place to Blackpool and has a status of Eric Morecambe it's most famous son, you have quite a few seaside resorts which are adjoining one another, which is a plus in the UK, never too far away for day trips
My father took us to see the Illuminations at Blackpool before they built the motorway across the Pennines so it was a LONG journey and I was underwhelmed to be honest. My only return was to a union conference and I didn't find it was the sort of place I would want to go on holiday. For me, I like places with bookshops and there were no interesting bookshops sadly. This was when I went in about thirty years ago.
I used to have holidays in Blackpool when I was a kid back in the 70's, I was always fond of the place. A couple of visits over the last couple of decades lead me to believe that it's gone seriously downhill. But it's not the worst seaside town in the UK... I dare you to try Rhyl in North Wales. Now THAT'S an absolute horror show...
Blackpool has its own charm! I'm from Lytham St Annes just down the coast and to me that whole Fylde coast just feels like home. Yes it's cheesy, yes it's run down in parts (although Lytham St Annes is very gentrified in comparison), but it's completely unique! I love Blackpool!
Been to Blackpool many times as a child. I saw Charlie Cairoli at the Tower Circus, which was great. Returned to Blackpool a number of times as an adult, including my honeymoon in 1987, and later with the children. Blackpool will always have a special place in my heart. Glad you enjoyed it. x
Blackpool is not the place I knew as a kid - I remember going there for the illuminations and looking in awe at the toy displays in Debenhams window ( a Dept Store at the foot of the Tower ) - the Action Man (GI Joe ) displays were my favourite eating rock and other sweets then at the end a big bag of chips covered in salt and vinegar ............. last time I was there I saw something I can't even describe on YT - ahhh Blackpool what happened to you?
Theres a few of these popular seaside towns that get a bad rep. Weston Super Mare and Bournemouth, were HUGELY popular decades ago. They still are, but they are a bit rough now. They are in desperate need of TLC. Blackpool for example, is famous for its tower, illuminations and "Golden Mile" , but that's were all the money goes. If you step off the front down near the less popular shops not on the sea front, it starts looking rough.
I think sometimes a place can surprise you! Blackpool wouldn't be my first choice but I would like to go properly one day...we went years ago but in typical 'Morris Family Style' we were a day late for the illuminations and everything was closed due to high winds ha ha
Blackpool is beautiful at night but daytime Blackpool is a different experience all together. Some of the backstreets are really run down and it's such a shame.. Glad you enjoyed your stay though xxx 🙏🇬🇧😘✌️
There are two reasons people hate on Blackpool. Firstly it's a very Northern Working Class resort- and if that's not people's vibe, then they willl be very snobbish about what's on offer there. Second, like a lot of British seaside towns it has suffered as the habit of holidaying in the UK has been overtaken by holidaying abroad in sunnier climes, and this causes a lot of unemployment and deprivation.
We adore the 2p machines! Hours of giddy fun for not much money! Blackpool has it's issues and urban deprivation so having holiday makers bringing money to the area throughout the year has got to help. These lists of 'worst places' really don't help... That fish batter looked amazing! N&Nx
Love Blackpool, around an hour from me on the train and great for cycling by the sea. People are real 'salt of the earth' types, like in much of Lancashire. It does have a lot of social problems as well though (drug & alcohol dependency) but is ploughing money in to the town to try and work on those issues and improve the local economy. Next time, try and plan a visit to Funny Girls club for a great night out. If you're fans of the Pet Shop Boys, then you'll know that keyboard player Chris Lowe also hails from Blackpool 😊👍🏻 Love your vids. Keep them coming xxx
Do you have memories of visiting Blackpool? Let us know.
It’s my home town.
My Sister coming home with booth photos in kiss me quick hats!
How dare you insult my town 😡
Blackpool illuminations were a thing of beauty back in the day👍
My parents took my brother and me here for our birthdays, 1960's. Loved the golden mile and the pleasure beach, rock, fish & chips, wasted 18teen year old women vomiting in the trams.
I have lived here my whole and life and love some aspects of Blackpool but unfortunately a lot of areas are very run down and there’s a big drug problem here. I was shocked when your video popped up and you had visited us… you seemed to enjoy it which was great to see!
Watching you have the chips and gravy/curry sauce and the chip butty gives me so much joy as a Northener. The proper way to have fish and chips. Yum.
I'm glad you've done Blackpool. The old girl is battered and bruised but full of optimism, love, and opportunity. There are more food and drink options than I can remember, and the rough-and-ready charm is part of its attraction. I love doing days out where I visit Lytham for food, St Annes for drink, and then Blackpool. It's a lovely part of Lancashire
As someone who lives in Blackpool I do get asked a lot “I bet you go down the promenade all the time” well they are shocked to find out we very rarely go. Days out tend to be more up the coast towards st Anne’s and Lytham. Which I’m sure you both would enjoy. Enjoyed your videos as always.
As a Mancunian growing up on a council estate, a day out on a coach to Blackie was a staple of my childhood, and it really brought my wider family together as we all went as a group. Even then, you knew it was a bit rough around the edges, but we weren't made of money, as my Dad used to remind us. These days, as an adult with a family of my own, I hold a very 'love-hate' relationship with the place. My girls adore a ride through the Illuminations, and it gives me opportunity to wax lyrical on my childhood, but it isn't a place I like to spend a whole lot of time in. The lights of an evening; the typical jingles that sound out of the 2p machines as you walk past; the blended smell of candy floss, doughnuts and fish & chips in the air - the nostalgia hits you! Then you notice the 24/7 binge-drinking culture; rowdy Stag/Hen parties making spectacles of themselves in the street; the run-down establishments, and you promise yourself you'll give it a miss next year...
I'm surprised RUclips let you say "Blackie".
There's a saying in the uk when theres lots of lights turned on in the house, most mother's would always say turn the lights off its lit up like blackpool illuminations in here 😂
There’s a phrase we use in the uk if somewhere is bright ‘it’s like Blackpool here!’ And if definitely lives up to that 💡🔆🔅
I grew up in Blackpool and admit it now looks a bit run down. BUT it’s an open air museum in so many ways. The Pleasure Beach (which would have been closed during your visit) has wooden coasters dating back to 1923. The Tower opened in 1894. The trams are iconic. There’s a world famous ice cream parlour called Notarianni (which would also have been closed).
A bit run down?
I love watching your vlogs every Sunday evening UK time here! I always enjoy them and your almost at 70K subscribers which is amazing! Keep up the great work and Blackpool here in the UK is on my visit list for sure!
Blackpool gets a bad rap sometimes because of the stag and hen do crowd, you can have a really cheap and boozy experience in Blackpool if that's what you want. But Blackpool also has some really nice upmarket places to stay and cool bar/restaurants etc. And if you go further up the rd outside of Blackpool there are some really posh places but that being said if you go a few streets back from the front there are some really bad places. What it boils down to is you get from Blackpool what you want, cheap and cheerful, boozy and debauched or classy and relaxed.
It's not just the crowd of drunks. The place is dilapidated and dirty. Lytham St Anne's a few miles up the coast is alright though.
Hi Guys. Blackpool ❤. It gets a bad rap from many people BUT they still keep going. I love Blackpool, I'm only 40 minutes away. It does suffer from poverty if that's the right word because it's a seasonal resort and in the close down period there is no work.
The Illuminations are a way of getting tourists there at the end of season and have been extended to take advantage of the quiet times.
There are so many people who haven't been to Blackpool that run it down. It's a fantastic place and I have enjoyed many a time there 🎉😂❤.
I think you both enjoyed it 😊.
I❤Blackpool.
Been visiting for 43 years (I'm 46) and never get bored of it. Come back in the summer or October, you'll see its even better !
Come back to Lincoln. The beaches along the whole Lincolnshire coast are golden sandy and beautiful.
A lot of people are snooty about Blackpool, often without ever having been there. Like all Victorian seaside towns it's had a rough time over the last 30 - 40 years. The popularity of package holidays abroad did a lot of damage. However, as you found out, you can still have fun there - even more so when everything opens up around Easter until the end of October, when it starts to wind down again.
I’ve been to Blackpool once…. That was enough.
Blackpool means a great deal to me, as during the 80s and 90s my grandparents ran a B&B and then a chip shop that they lived above. I have so many memories of visiting them and just having the best time in the arcades, pleasure beach etc. Blackpool suffers from underfunding which a lot of our seaside towns do, which sadly is really clear in the surrounding streets. However, it still is such a fun visit!
You guys are nailing British culture, the gravy on your chips and doing the chip butty. And Jezza discovered the British pallet early to be fair with the curry and chips 👏
Art B&B looks like it was perfection! The lovely breakfast they made you looked like it was made and put together with such care 💝💖💓
Thank you for giving Blackpool a go and I think you gave a fair review based on what was open given the time of the year. Pity the tower wasn't open to see the Ballroom and it's Wulitzer Organ in particular. If you do visit again may I suggest Lytham too which is just outside of Blackpool. There is Lytham Hall, Lowther Gardens and Lytham Windmill where you could take a stroll along the sea front. Pity I didn't know you were visiting as I'm not too far away and from my local coastline can see Blackpool and Lytham.
I have great memories of the illuminations in the 80s. The trams were decked out as rockets and other things, and the whole experience felt less half-hearted. It's a shame it's so run-down these days, as the Pleasure Beach has some genuine authentic retro charm
I used to go as a child. it was vastly different. There were always trams that went up and down covered in lights. ut was not run down in the seventies at all. I remember going on the donkeys on the beach and my mum asking if they went any faster, the guy with the donkies slapped the donkey behind and i went racing off across Blackpool sands with my mum running behind shouting for me to jump off. The seven year old me absolutley loved it!!
I watched Basil Brush when i went in the Seventies👍
Blackpool just makes me happy. I always have a smile when I'm there.
In the main season, Blackpool is full of people and very busy. Millions visit every year not least for the Pleasure Beach and Rollercoaster Rides, the Tower for the Circus or The Blackpool Grand Theatre. Definitely a buzz about the town. You can also pop up to Cleveleys lots of tea shops or down to Leafy Lytham restaurants, Lowther Gardens and Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club, Open venue where Bobby Jones won in 1926. Blackpool and the Fylde Coast is a great stop off on the way to the Lake District and Scotland 😊
I used to go as a child. It was brilliant then and not run down at all. I remember the miles and miles of trams covered in lights, the old wooden rollercoaster, and riding the donkeys on the beach. i remember my mum asking the guy if they could go faster and he slapped the poor donkey on its butt and off i shot across Blackpool sands with my mum running behind me shouting to jump off. the seven-year-old me loved every minute of it!!
I love your videos and how positive and generous you are about places.
I’m from just down the road in Lytham but I haven’t lived there for 16 years. It looks much the same as I remember it. It was a fun place to be a kid/teen but a pretty deprived area aswell. I’m yet to take my children there to visit but your video made me remember the fun things. 12 year old me spent ALOT of time in Coral Island 😅 I highly recommend going back in the spring/summer. It’s a bit of a ghost town in winter and feels quite grim! The tower ballroom is a thing of beauty and well worth a visit. It feels like you’re in another world. Pleasure Beach is pretty good too. Another good thing for you to do is visit Funny Girls cabaret if you’re stuck for something to do on an evening. It’s a really fun old fashioned drag show in an old theatre that feels very old school glamour x
Thank you for your enthusiasm, it's so refreshing. Blackpool is a nostalgic place for me and my grandchildren love it. You must return and visit the tower, the ballroom is spectacular and the view from the top amazing right across to Wales on a clear day. The tower circus also takes some beating! You are teaching 'us Brits' how to appreciate our wonderful country, thank-you!
The tower circus made me scared of clowns - but it is spectacular - I agree
I agree. So many places in the UK are viewed better than the British RUclipsrs who visit the same places. A south Yorkshire resident my whole life, I learned through your Sheffield visit about the 'famous' pork sandwich. I don't ever recall hearing about it anywhere else.
It's been many years since I last visited Blackpool - about 35 years! On the few occasions that I visited, I had a very good time. The illuminations were fabulous, the fish and chips were excellent, and the Pleasure Beach rides were top notch.
My family go back at least 500 years in Blackpool and my 4th great grandad was Blackpools 1st Police Sergeant. Blackpools popularity went downhill when the cheap foreign holidays come in but Blackpool still gets 1000s coming during the summer.
My main memories of Blackpool are , being sick at the tower circus (we had a car accident and mum and dad took us to Blackpool to get over it but I was still suffering from shock) but most amazingly seeing Shirley Bassey live in Blackpool in 1963, I remember every detail!
I bet she was at the height of her vocal powers back then. I had her on an Lp once singing live and was impressed with her performance. Come to think of it I will look it up on you tube tomorrow morning. Best wishes to you
Me and my girlfriend book £40 a night hotels by the beach and we have a great time just looking at the lights in winter and having fish and chips and going Into the arcades! Serious sense of nostalgia for me as well as parents took me as a kid. I think most Northerners have been at least once.
It's there if you want it. I live up the road! I can't believe you were here and I didn't get to see you! Glad you enjoyed it.
My grandchildren went to Blackpool for the day a couple of weeks ago and loved it. the best way to see the lights is on the tram.
We saw Morecambe and Wise in Blackpool back in the sixties. They were fantastic. The piers are terrific. My grandmother loved Blackpool so we often went there on holiday.
I have fond memories of performing at Blackpool Tower. It is definitely a Summer destination. So many of the things I have nostalgia for there, no longer exist. Like the Oyster Bar (selling seafood), Yates Wine Lodge (a huge pub whose speciality was different types of Sherry). The Rock Factory (where you could see it made). I have not been back in years. It has always been a popular spot for a Day Trip. My Grandparens liked to sit in deckchairs on he Central Pier, listening to the Brass Band (I do not know if they still have it) On the beach, the adults would rent a deckchair and wind break. Sometthing very English but sadly no longer, you could go to little huts along the beach and get a tea tray, not just cups of tea but the whole thing, teapot, sugar & creamer, cups saucers and teaspoons and each cup came with a little packet of biscuits. You paid a deposit on your tray to cover any breakages, My Nan would send Grandad for a tray and Nan had her trusty shopping bag which would have sandwiches and cake. Grandad always brought us our own bottle of pop and a straw. No day out or even holiday was complete without a giant stick of rock and a kiss me quick hat. The hat did not have to be the usual black trilby with a band that said kiss me quick. You could roam around all day in anything from a Policeman's helmet to a Viking helmet. My Nan had a knack for seeking out good and inexpensive places to eat and back street gift shops.
I have fond memories of Blackpool, we used to travel over from Halifax for a week during the summer holidays when I was a kid to stay at my Grandma's who lived in St Anns. The highlight of the week was a day on the golden mile via the Pleasure beach. I'm 53 now and a grandfather myself and I took my grandchildren to Blackpool for the weekend a couple of years ago which was the first time I'd been to Blackpool for almost 40 years and it's hardly changed at all. I wouldn't want to live in Blackpool it's got a lot of crime and drug abuse is at epidemic levels apparently but it's a fun place to visit.
You could also visit Stanley Park, the Miniature Village, and the Blackpool Zoo. And yes, Happy Jack's is not happy anymore.
This place reminds me of how it used to be at Lake of the Ozarks, in Missouri. Branson is sort of similar. There were carnival rides, arcade games, etc.---and lots of tacky gift items. Blackpool apparently is controversial. Some think it's a tourist gem yet others say "don't go there".
Blackpool was a huge tourist hub when I was younger! I'm now 60 it's very run down just like it's cheaper neighbour Morecambe! Very sad but great for a weekend or couple of days especially in summer.
Southerners have Brighton, sw has newquay Yorkshire has Scarborough, London has Margate, etc. there are seaside towns for every area of UK
I really enjoyed this. Thank you 😊
If you visit any seaside town "out of season" its likely you'll find most places shut as they don't always open "out of season" especially places like the piers or the tower. If its possible, you should perhaps visit Blackpool over the summer months and see if the place is the same or different to your first visit
The musical shows are ace on Blackpool for what they are, beltin night, few drinks and you're set 👌🏻😎
I have some distant family in Blackpool and had a few holidays there when I was very young. I do remember a lot of rain but the memories are still good.
Have you ever listened to the Morrisey song Everyday is like Sunday? It sums up these faded seaside towns quite welll! This said, I kinda like them, particularly in winter. Please try Skegg vegas next!
I briefly lived there in 2018-2019... Gail Force Winds and storms blown off the Irish sea in summertime whipping up the sand spring to mind....
Cheap and tacky but it holds a special place in my heart ❤
Blackpool was the first UK seaside holiday I ever went on as a kid and when I eventually returned thirty years later it was like time had stood still. I still love Pleasure Bleach on a nice sunny day and the prawn toast at the Ocean Palace Chinese tastes just as good now as it did thirty years ago! Lol x
You need to go back and spend a day at the Pleasure beach, it has some of the oldest rides in the world along with some more state of the art ones and the worlds first ghost train which is said to be haunted by a real ghost. Also the laughing clown animatronic used to freak me out when I was a kid. We used to go to Blackpool at least once a year growing up as my dad’s pal lived there and we’d stay in his house. It’s a place that’s a bit run down in parts of it now but there’s ffun to be had if you look for it. Blackpool rock is worth the trip alone too! That hotel was a little hidden Jem, Blackpool hotels always had a reputation for being rough around the edges with fearsome landladies.
Fun fact - the Kentucky Derby games was invented in my hometown of Southport, just across the water from Blackpool!
We typically say 'the illustrations'. We would never describe 'the illustrations' or 'the Blackpool illustrations' simply as illustrations. It's worth taking one of the vintage trams to view the illustrations or a modern tram to see the full length of the illustrations and the northern end's tableaus.
Regarding the bread and butter served with your fish 'n chips, you don't need to add the butter. Also, you could have made a battered fish butty as well as the chip butty. 10/10 score for choosing Yorkshire Fisheries. They are the very best place to eat a portion of fish and chips in the whole of Blackpool.
Oh thanks so much for going there, this is going to be so entertaining
Southend on sea, Essex. Has the longest pier in the wotld. You need to go there and see the fun park and all the amusement on the sea front.
The best square on the "comedy carpet" is by a Certain Mr E Morecambe concerning Greigs piano concerto !
I loved Blackpool when I was a kid in the late 70s and early 80s. It was a really magical place for me, I have some fantastic memories.
Recently it's really run down and many of the attractions are.no where near what they were. I still like going, though.
Blackpool was just the place to go for many North Englanders as a vacation spot in the 20th century. Very popular back then. But travel to warm places like the Costa Brava with cheap all inclusive air packages took away much of the business - like so many other seaside towns.
Then Blackpool fell on harder times and became a bit tacky in my opinion. Yet it hangs on today with some difficulty I have heard.
There so many times as a kid and at that time (many years ago) the place felt magical. Donkey rides, kiss me quick hats and hours of fun at the fair..now it does feel like it’s seen better days and being known as the home of the £1 burger is nothing to brag about I’m afraid. I know you guys know our seaside isn’t all like this and poor old Blackpool has certainly lost its shine
You can get 2 kinds of curry sauce normally. Theres a "fruity" , which has tiny bits of apple in it, and the Chinese style, which is the smooth spicy sort. The latter varies a lot between stores, some are so spicy its just all spice and no flavour. If you go into the store Home Bargains, you'll find Mayflower brand curry sauce for about £1 or so a tub. That is a typical Chinese curry sauce like the chippies use.
Love Blackers, always good fun. However, you need to leave all snobbery behind before you enter. Thank you so much, you really go above and beyond where most American tourists would ordinarily visit. You're the best.
Blackpool as a holiday destination is up there with the best. Once you go back a few roads in to residential Blackpool and get away from the holiday fun, it's there where it gets it's reputation from. Mostly because the council are willing to spend millions upon millions on the seaside half, and are willing to neglect the actual residential areas. It's such a shame.
You need to come back to Blackpool in the summer, or definately towards the end of the year when the lights go on and the fireworks display competitions are going on.
Phil "The Power" Taylor - along with Eddie "The Beast" Hall, Stoke's two world champions! Blackpool is a funny place. It calls back to a lot of nostalgia for those of us that grew up within a couple of hours drive. But it's also full of rot and depression just off the promenade.
I think the reason for some of the hate is the stag and hen do's that descend on Blackpool, if you're out when they're about it can feel like a pretty hellish place, unless you're a similar level of drunk. The other factor is that, like a lot of places, there's some area's of serious neglect around Blackpool and some areas of poverty and drug use etc... which wasn't always the case, so some people see that and think the whole place is a shaddow of its former self. However, i will say the people around there, generally, are lovely and always friendly and willing to share what little they might have.
Hello Cara and Jeremy. Great that you took Blackpool at face value and enjoyed yourselves.
I can’t believe you visited Blackpool before sunny Southend-on-Sea!
03:35 "I reached out to them and they hosted us here".
In English we have a word for that, it's called a booking.
Grew up just down the road.. love Blackpool… though it is a bit run down now. Always windy, but the beach is brilliant and the illuminations are just a treat.. walking along the prom looking at the lights and getting fish and chips along the way. Chip butty.. fab… fish with gravy.. no fab🤣
Blackpool is simply the best!! We absolutely love the place ❤️
Hi, I don't know if you know about the history of the piers. The North Pier was strictly for 'Ladies and Gentlemen' who wanted to promenade, the South Pier was for the lower classes and the Central Pier was built to accommodate both classes.
I've never been coz we always went Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby, Scarborough or Filey when I was growing up, but with the general image I got of Blackpool from how people described it to me, it always kind of amuses me that it's apparently referred to as 'the Mecca of ballroom dancing.' Like everything I'd heard about it never really screamed ballroom dancing to me, but it's apparently like a world renowned location for ballroom dancing
Abingdon Street market is a great little place, I highly recommend the food stalls in there.
Forgot to mention that you should also go to St Annes which also has a pier and Cleveleys and the north pier does have a very old carousel ride and a train that takes you up and down the pier please come back in the summer when more is open
As a child i used to love visiting the Dr Who museum with Bessie parked outside.
I'm so glad that you loved the 2p coin pushers. They are wonderfully addictive.
I live here. Seriously, Blackpool is the pits. However, there are 37 seaside towns in England. Blackpool is the most popular staycation holiday destination in the UK. Last year saw visitor numbers pass the 20 million mark. Sure there are more refined and upper crust seaside towns but Blackpool is a breed of its own.
Back in the 90's my two South African friends eloped to Gretna Green & we took them to Blackpool for their honeymoon. We found an old school B&B with candlewick bedspreads, tacky bar, god awful breakfast & shared bathrooms. Fish & chips and bread butter for tea. Poured It down the whole time. It was perfect 😂
the bloom bar is really nice in the summer
So glad you came here and said a lot of nice things about blackpool it gets a lot of bad press wish you could have gone in the tower there is the dungeon the circus my favourite place the ballroom and of course the top of the tower with the glass floor i have lived here for 27 years and i love it you should have gone in the winter gardens you went past and we have lots of shows inc the oldest ice show in the summer its been going for over 80 years
I've watched your videos for a while along with other American peoples videos on visiting the UK and out of all I watch I feel you two should move here then do videos on Americans living in the UK and what to expect and can I just add, living in Sheffield we would love to have you in our city x
I forgot the highlight of any kids visit to Blackpool Beach, A Donkey ride. The only place I know where this still happens is Filey (North Yorkshire).
I've been to Blackpool pretty often, it doesn't deserve the title of Worse Seaside Town, there are far more boring seaside towns which are half closed for most of the year.
I really like Yorkshire Fisheries, glad you tried it for yourself.
Glad you did Blackpool with too much criticism, definitely worth coming back when it's busy and visiting Lytham a couple of miles down the road.
I’m from Lytham - not lived there for 16 years though. My mum still does
I think when you go to seaside towns, there is the seaside town you see as tourists, and there is the reality for people who live there 12 months of the year. In 2019, eight of the 10 most deprived neighbourhoods in England were in Blackpool.
My memories of everything being packed full of people.Great shows, cheap beer, and food. A beach with deckchairs and people, punch and Judy, lots of donkeys, boat rides, fishing off the piers, amusements, pleasure beach, amazing double decker trams.... lots more.....
Today, it's the opposite
You should have gone into the Tower Ballroom, I expect that part would have been open. I have been there a few times, as friends have appeared at the different theatres including the ones at the end of the piers. You have small town's at either end of Blackpool as well which are worth visiting. I think like most places it doesn't look it's best out of season, but also probably been hit by a economic downturn from the pandemic. I hope you took a tram through the lights, which again are free to all, it's from what I remember funded by the council and donations from the public whilst visiting. I don't know if you've been down South Southend On Sea has the longest pier it's about a mile or so long. You weren't too far away from Morecambe Bay either which is a similar place to Blackpool and has a status of Eric Morecambe it's most famous son, you have quite a few seaside resorts which are adjoining one another, which is a plus in the UK, never too far away for day trips
Colonel Gadaffi loved the lights that much he bought some,not a joke he really did 😂😂
My father took us to see the Illuminations
at Blackpool
before they built the motorway across the Pennines
so it was a LONG journey
and I was underwhelmed to be honest.
My only return was to a union conference
and I didn't find it was the sort of place
I would want to go on holiday.
For me, I like places with bookshops
and there were no interesting bookshops sadly.
This was when I went in about thirty years ago.
I used to have holidays in Blackpool when I was a kid back in the 70's, I was always fond of the place. A couple of visits over the last couple of decades lead me to believe that it's gone seriously downhill. But it's not the worst seaside town in the UK... I dare you to try Rhyl in North Wales. Now THAT'S an absolute horror show...
Blackpool has its own charm! I'm from Lytham St Annes just down the coast and to me that whole Fylde coast just feels like home. Yes it's cheesy, yes it's run down in parts (although Lytham St Annes is very gentrified in comparison), but it's completely unique! I love Blackpool!
Been to Blackpool many times as a child. I saw Charlie Cairoli at the Tower Circus, which was great. Returned to Blackpool a number of times as an adult, including my honeymoon in 1987, and later with the children. Blackpool will always have a special place in my heart. Glad you enjoyed it. x
Blackpool is not the place I knew as a kid - I remember going there for the illuminations and looking in awe at the toy displays in Debenhams window ( a Dept Store at the foot of the Tower ) - the Action Man (GI Joe ) displays were my favourite eating rock and other sweets then at the end a big bag of chips covered in salt and vinegar ............. last time I was there I saw something I can't even describe on YT - ahhh Blackpool what happened to you?
Theres a few of these popular seaside towns that get a bad rep. Weston Super Mare and Bournemouth, were HUGELY popular decades ago. They still are, but they are a bit rough now. They are in desperate need of TLC. Blackpool for example, is famous for its tower, illuminations and "Golden Mile" , but that's were all the money goes. If you step off the front down near the less popular shops not on the sea front, it starts looking rough.
I think sometimes a place can surprise you! Blackpool wouldn't be my first choice but I would like to go properly one day...we went years ago but in typical 'Morris Family Style' we were a day late for the illuminations and everything was closed due to high winds ha ha
Blackpool is beautiful at night but daytime Blackpool is a different experience all together. Some of the backstreets are really run down and it's such a shame.. Glad you enjoyed your stay though xxx 🙏🇬🇧😘✌️
There are two reasons people hate on Blackpool. Firstly it's a very Northern Working Class resort- and if that's not people's vibe, then they willl be very snobbish about what's on offer there. Second, like a lot of British seaside towns it has suffered as the habit of holidaying in the UK has been overtaken by holidaying abroad in sunnier climes, and this causes a lot of unemployment and deprivation.
We adore the 2p machines! Hours of giddy fun for not much money!
Blackpool has it's issues and urban deprivation so having holiday makers bringing money to the area throughout the year has got to help. These lists of 'worst places' really don't help...
That fish batter looked amazing! N&Nx
we all love a coin cascade. Those chips did look good. Always better from a proper chip shop rather than a pub or restaurant.
Always chips and gravy up north 😋. Chips, sausage, mushy peas and gravy is always my go to
Well done you’ve made Blackpool look lovely..
Love Blackpool, around an hour from me on the train and great for cycling by the sea. People are real 'salt of the earth' types, like in much of Lancashire. It does have a lot of social problems as well though (drug & alcohol dependency) but is ploughing money in to the town to try and work on those issues and improve the local economy. Next time, try and plan a visit to Funny Girls club for a great night out. If you're fans of the Pet Shop Boys, then you'll know that keyboard player Chris Lowe also hails from Blackpool 😊👍🏻 Love your vids. Keep them coming xxx
Even Jeremy sounded piered-out when you got the last one.
Central pier is absolutely packed in the summer, tbf the whole of Blackpool is
Finally, you came to my home town!
You ought to go to Rhyl as well the beach and boardwalk there is Fab..