Introduction
Blackpool is a seaside town in England, on the coast of the Irish Sea.It is traditionally part of Lancashire but on April 1, 1998 was madeinto an independent unitary authority. It is believed to get its namefrom a long gone drainage channel which ran over a peat bog. The waterwhich ran into the sea at Blackpool was black from the peat and formeda “black pool” in the relatively clean waters of the Irish Sea.
History
During Roman times, the Fylde, was an area of oak forests andimpassable bogs. The Romans built a road through Preston to asettlement outside Kirkham fort and this continued westwards, probablytowards a Roman port. In 1602 entries in the Bispham parish baptismalregister mention “de Poole” and “de blackpoole”, at that time acollection of cobble and clay huts spread along the coast near to the”Pool”. In 18TH Century The Fylde coast began to attract visitors fromthe landed gentry by the 1720's and in 1735 a cottage owned by Etharta' Whiteside became the first 'guest house' used especially forvisitors. The 19th Century saw the rapid development of Blackpool as amajor resort for the industrial working classes of Lancashire andYorkshire. The 1970's and 80's brought competition from continentalholidays and from the consequent higher expectations of visitors.Blackpool adjusted as it has throughout its history, by providing minibreaks, en-suite facilities, and major indoor facilities such as theSandcastle, Sea Life Centre and most recently the World of CoronationStreet.
Place of interest
Blackpool is heavily dependent on tourism. Major attractions include:
One controversial proposal, which has the involvement of the localcouncil, is to transform Blackpool into a casino resort along the linesof Las Vegas and Atlantic City, making it the centre point of gamblingin the UK.
Blackpool remains a major summer entertainment venue, specialising invariety shows featuring entertainers such as Ken Dodd. Outside the mainholiday season, Blackpool's Winter Gardens routinely hosts majorpolitical and trade union conferences, ranging from that of theConservative Party and the TGWU with thousands of delegates andvisitors, to substantially smaller gatherings such as the CWU or NUSconferences.
Museums & Art Galleries
The world famous Waxworks exhibition is situated on Central Promenadeand is open throughout the season from Easter to the end of October.Famous personalities such as film stars, television personalities, popidols and politicians are all portrayed in wax. Why not visit theChamber of Horrors and the Anatomy Exhibition for adults where newfigures are introduced every season. Toy and Teddy Bear Museum isanother attraction for visitors.
Shopping
Like other popular cities Blackpool has a number of shopping centerchain. Among them : Littlewoods Extra with a massive range of 40000products, ranging from toys and clothes to electrical goods and sportsequipment and Marks & Spencer for womenswear, menswear, gifts,flowers and a wide range of delcious food. Except this two, Bhs Plc,Clifton Arcade, Hearnshaw Of Fleetwood, Stringer Jw, Woolworths Plc,Lancastrian Shopping Mart etc., are some famous shoping centers inBlackpool.
Food & Drink
Blackpool hosts a number of restaurants offering all range of food andall verities of food from different place of the world. Blue Room,Cottage, Giggis Taverna, Grosvenor Casino, Galley Caf?, House ofSpice, Il Corsaro Restaurant are some of the famous restaurants inBlackpool. Blackpool has a number of night clubs. Among them Barney?s,Heaven and Hell, Flamingo, Gaitety?s and Walcot?s Bar are some names tomention.
Education
Blackpool & Flyde College, Blackpool Sixth Form College, Lytham StAnnes High Technical College are some of the famous institutes in theirrespective fields.
Sports
From the outset in 1994, the Blackpool Cup has enjoyed an overwhelminginterest. The number of participants and nationalities is still growingevery year. This year, their eleventh edition of the tournament, theyhave another huge entry with over 140 teams taking part. BlackpoolRugby Union Football Club (BRUFC) has enjoyed phenomenal success overthe last six years. Blackpool also has a cricket club.
Hotels & Accommodation
There is a large range of hotels in Blackpool to suit all budget. Hereis a selection of Blackpoolhotels:
Tours and Sightseeing
Organised tours in Blackpool have variety in their theme and accordingto the theme the contents also changes. The most widely chosen toursare based on waxworks museum and other sightseeing subjects. Thesetours contains place of interests, famous buildings, museums etc.
Transport
The town's tramway was for a long time Britain's only working tramwayoutside of museums. Other cities have been rebuilding their networkssince the late 20th century.
Blackpool had two railway terminals with a total of over 30 platforms,mainly used by excursion traffic in the summer. Blackpool Central,close to the Tower, was closed in 1964, whilst Blackpool North waslargely demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility.
Blackpool Airport operates regular charter and scheduled flights. Theairport is actually in St Annes although a proposal to reorganiseBlackpool's borders would see the airport incorporated into BlackpoolBorough.
Biography
Name: Maria Williams
Occupation: Traveller
Website: http://www.sleepuk.com
Biography: Maria writes for Sleep UK - providers of discounted hotels to make your stay in tde UK as comfortable as possible.