A mini guide to: Blackpool
1st Jan 2015 Travel
Blackpool embodies everything that is fun about the Great British seaside: sandy beaches, exciting rides for all the family and great tasting food.
From fish and chips to fine cuisine
Traditional flame wok cooking at Michael Wan's Mandarin
Blackpool is rumoured to be the birthplace of the battered sausage and it’s certainly easy to get your hands on one: the seafront is littered with cheap and cheerful chippies. However, if it’s a more refined dining experience that you’re after you should make a beeline for Clifton Street.
Michael Wan’s Mandarin Restaurant, replete with opulent red tables and exotic oriental fittings, has been serving up fresh, fragrant and fiery Chinese food to Blackpool’s locals and visitors since 1961.
The menu has evolved over the years to marry Cantonese flavours with western style dishes but some of the original Mandarin recipes remain. There’s so much to try you may be tempted to eat at Michael Wan’s every night of your stay!
If you do decide to try another dining spot, you could do a lot worse than booking a table at La Fontana (also on Clifton Street). This award-winning restaurant is a haven of Italian home cooking.
Read more: 6 Secret UK beaches you must visit
Stylish cocktails and traditional pubs
The Beach House Bistro Bar
Blackpool boasts seven miles of beautiful sandy beaches. Make the most of the ocean views by ordering a cocktail–or two–from the stylish Beach House Bistro Bar.
They have everything from the ‘Bombay Bramble’ to the ‘Honey I Stole the Old Fashioned’ but the Grey Goose and Prosecco concoctions are the stars of the show.
For something a little less swish head to the Pump & Truncheon for a good old fashioned pub with exposed brickwork walls, a warming fireplace and a selection of real ale pumps.
Get dancing
The gilded stucco balconies and mural ceilings of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom are every bit as grand and magnificent as the Royal Opera House or the Albert Hall.
Some visitors opt to relax and enjoy a sitting of afternoon tea, while the more adventurous and dexterous can glide around the sprung dance floor, guided by the regal tones of the famous Wurlitzer organ.
When the music finishes you’ll have the opportunity to ascend the iconic 500ft tower. There are 563 steps—but luckily these are reserved for maintenance staff. Guests are obliged to take the lift.
Fun for everyone
The main thing that binds all visitors to Blackpool Pleasure Beach together is the exhilarated grins on their faces. From excited youngsters riding a roller coaster for the first time to doting couples holding hands and older family members rolling back the years in the queue for a ride: everybody in the theme park seems to ooze happiness.
Attractions to look out for include: the 100-year-old River Caves boat ride, which takes passengers on a spooky journey through the ages. The Grand National wooden coaster, pitting riders in different carriages in a race against each other. And the UK’s tallest roller coaster: the Big One, which rises over 200ft before racing around a mammoth track that dominates the Blackpool skyline.
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