Blackpool Off The Beaten Path

Will it be possible to travel in time?
Maybe!
Look at this precious building - the past is present in all its details and beauty, but if you enter, you will meet the future.
No... it is not a school, nor a church, nor even a palace, it is a ... cybercafe. How nice!

Well, the church is next door...

Near my hotel there was a closed but interesting building. In the facade we could read "1913 Central Picture Theatre" but the only "living" signal was the advertising of "Central Cabaret Bar" in both windows.

I tried to discover what it was, and, in the listed buildings of Blackpool Civic Trust, I read:

"
Central Drive

Grade 2 - Listed 20.10.1983

Recently in use as a bingo hall, the “Central Picture Theatre” was built in 1913, possibly one of the first purpose-built cinemas in Lancashire.

The symmetrical façade in Accrington brick features stone-coloured dressings, two bullseye windows, drum and ball finial and a red/white chequered gable bearing patterns in moulded terracotta.

The small foyer leads to a balconied auditorium with decorative mouldings to cornice, ceiling braces and seat ends. Exterior restored and interior much altered in conversion to “Village Pizzeria” in Spring 1986.

Now stands vacant and with door and windows boarded over.
"

Well, one more sigh of Blackpool's old glorious days.

4 more images

Away from all the hustle, bustle and rowdiness in the central areas of Blackpool you can find this little haven. Behind Blackpool Zoo and beyon the DeVere hotel there is a track which takes you out to Marton Mere. This is a great place to go if you just want to get away and have some time to yourself. There are a number of little huts around the lake out here where you can sit and do a spot of birdwatching. I love it out here and oftne find myself out here for a little bit of "me-time" - it truly is beautiful and peaceful. It is quite a walk and you can easily spend a good few hours enjoying the scenery here.

Not many people notice this nowadays, buts in its glory days it was very popular among younger visitors

insert a coin in the slot [this should be a tourist trap tip, it costs 20p] and the scotsman will dance as Nessie rises from the deep, of course in these days of virtual reality and video games the children think its naff and stupid, but we grown ups who remember a gentler age are taken back to our childhoods

it used to stand outside, now for its safety it is behind a plate glass window, you can see it in a tiny souvenir shop on Bond Street

If you look carefully you can still see pieces from Blackpools past, there is still evidence of Blackpools heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

above the amusement arcades you can often get a glimpse of the original Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings with their carved masonry, or curved lines, and you will see the rain shelters still useful on a wet and windy day by the sea

Marsh Mill is the tallest windmill of its kind (post mill) in Europe , and is situated on Victoria Road East in Thornton Cleveleys. The windmill, built in 1796, is now open to the general public at weekends as a museum, and in the surrounding area there are several shops and eating establishments. The windmill visit offers a real insight into the past and the workings of the mill (which was once a false teeth factory!).

Marsh Mill can be easily reached either by car or the number 14 bus that runs nearly every ten minutes from St. Annes to Fleetwood. The nearest bus stop is Four Lane Ends, Marsh Mill is a short walk from here.

Just up the road from the hustle and bustle of Blackpool, lies Lytham St Anns, a much quieter area of the coast. Lots of grassy areas for great picnics if the weather permits!! This picture is of The Anchor at the Lifeboat Museum.

If you get a tram north you come to Fleetwood it as one of the best markets in that area for clthes and fish, you can also get a train to Manchester around a hour away Liverpool 50 minuets Preston 30 minutes

Lifeboat House. This is the working home of the brave men and women who risk their lives to rescue those in danger out on the sea. There is a small museum here which is free but there are boxes for donations which I fully suggest you put money in. You can even watch the lifeboat crew working on the boats from a window upstairs. This is located just north of the Central Pier.

Fleetwood. The north end of the tram line, much quieter and less tourist orientated than Blackpool, we visit every year for the Beer Festival, see travelogue for more photos. B&B also good value here too and a ferry departs for the Isle of Man from the docks. 'The eating plaice' on the main street is a great sit down fish and chip shop - then on to the Wyre Lounge in the Marine Hall (tel 01253 771141) for one of the best pints in the country.