Todays walk was probably going to be the most unusual to date. It simply involved walking the entire distance along a promenade through a built up area.
My daughter accompanied me, as we caught a tram from the ferry at Fleetwood down to the tip of Blackpool at Stargate. I had never been on a tram before, so this was a new experience. I wanted to get a Heritage” Tram, i.e. one of the older trams that still run on the route, however, we opted for the first available one. I must confess to being relieved at getting off the tram as the constant announcements to “mind the doors”, “hold tight” and a repetition of each station approaching and arrival (and there are a lot of them!) started to get on my nerves.
Blackpool certainly does not appeal to many people, including me, but it is what it is and is very popular. Personally, I find the place, noisy, gaudy, tacky and not for me.
the weather forecast had been for a spot of light rain, then a occasional shower with sunshine, which was spot on. We started walking along the promenade and immediately had to pass through a charity cycle race which was just ending. We passed by the Pleasure Beach, as screams came from riders on “The Big One”, hurtling to earth from 250ft.
I stopped counting Fish and chip shops after 20 and finally succumbed to a sit down plate of poisson et frites at a Harry Ramsdens. After a break of 20 minutes we were off again heading north. The hustle and bustle is soon left behind as we head past sea anglers preparing for the incoming tide as they wait ashore. architecturally, Blackpool is a mess, but the structure that really took my eye were the Victorian wind shelters on the sea-front. they looked like mini Chinese pagodas, with beautiful iron-work on their seats and structure. Eventually, we passed out of Blackpool and into the Wyre Council admin area, passing the stark-looking fee-paying Rossall School and a new construction project in strengthening the coastal defences in this area.
We enter Fleetwood and pass the Rossall Point observation tower, a very quirky, cubic building leaning towards the sea and used a beacon and observation point. We complete the walk in 4 hours.
Distance today = 12 miles
Total distance = 1959.5 miles
Walking the Coast of Great Britain 