Experience the best of Blackpool

Blackpool grew from a small village into a holiday town after the railway arrived in the nineteenth century, drawing mill workers from the cotton towns of Lancashire. Blackpool Tower, opened in 1894 and inspired by the Eiffel Tower, rises over the promenade, with a ballroom and a circus at its base. Three piers, the North, Central and South, reach into the Irish Sea.

The Pleasure Beach, a funfair with big roller coasters, sits at the southern end, and the Winter Gardens, a great Victorian entertainment complex, stands in the centre. Trams run along the seafront as far as Fleetwood, and every autumn the Illuminations, miles of coloured lights along the promenade, are switched on, a custom that began in 1879. Lytham St Annes, with its dunes, lies down the coast.

Fish and chips, candy floss and sticks of Blackpool rock, a hard sweet with a name running through its centre, are the seaside food, and the pubs and tea rooms of Lancashire serve hotpot and crumbly Lancashire cheese. The resort is busiest in summer and during the autumn lights.