Visiting the UK: Blackpool Tower

I’ve written before about the northern seaside town of Blackpool in the UK and how it’s reinventing itself. And it’s doing a good job of reinventing what is probably its most famous feature, Blackpool Tower.

Blackpool never really had much going for it as a seaside resort. The sea in question is the grey and gloomy Irish Sea that’s often more choppy than calm. Skies can be grey too and the weather in the North of England can be rather chilly.

But in Victorian times Blackpool was created as a seaside resort – a place where the working people from industrial centres such as Manchester could enjoy – thanks to the development of the railways. Those who developed the area had to think hard about how to attract the crowds.

Sea air was vaunted as being health-giving, especially after those smokey chimneys of the city factories. Even bathing in the murky waters was something Queen Victoria recommended herself.

Nevertheless, as one of their efforts to ensure that the crowds would flock to Blackpool, the powers-that-be decided that the Eiffel Tower seemed to be a success in Parios, so why not try that? (The fact that there’s a world of difference between Blackpool and Paris seems to have escaped them).

It was opened in 1894 and many of its original features (or restored features in some cases) remain today. There are also modern attractions to rival other local venues. In the photograph above you see the magnificence of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom where the music is provided by the splendid organ that rises up from beneath the floor.

The tower has a circus – which hasn’t missed a performance during its entire existence – even during the two world wars. It has a zoo and aquarium. And visitors can travel to the top of the tower and see extensive views from its uppermost platform.

Situated up there too is a glass floor called the Walk of Faith – could you ‘walk on air’ so high in the sky?

All bizarrely brilliant.

You can even spend the night in Blackpool Tower – even at the top! Visit the website for more details.

Read reviews and see photographs here.