I’ve found a surprising seaside town for family holidays – with Gruffalo attraction, theme park & Strictly shows
BUMBLING along the beach in Blackpool, with the iconic tower as a backdrop, it feels like we've stepped inside a postcard, capturing the very essence of the great British seaside.
Even the grey skies overhead can't dampen our spirits as we collect shells and seaweed on the sand before heading into town for fish 'n' chips and an ice cream.
Whether you love a back-to-basics bucket-and-spade beach break, want a thrill a minute at one of the UK's oldest theme parks or fancy a night on the tiles, there's everything you need at Blackpool.
Recently voted the most underrated UK holiday destination, I've been tempted back to the Lancashire town to see if it can reclaim its crown as Britain's best-loved beach resort.
My son and I set off for a stroll along the prom, tucking into our sandwiches as trams rattle past us and the unlit illuminations hang above our heads.
It's all a far cry from a previous visit just 18 months earlier which left me with an impression of faded grandeur and a town down on its luck, not somewhere I'd be in a rush to revisit.
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As a Strictly fan, I'd wanted to pay homage to the home of ballroom, but didn't find much else to make me break out in song and dance.
But this summer, it feels like Blackpool is on the up.
Everywhere I look, there's building taking place and existing attractions being spruced up.
There's been investment along the seafront, with Merlin, the company behind Alton Towers and Legoland, recently opening its eighth attraction in the town with the arrival of the Gruffalo Clubhouse for little ones.
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach is redeveloping some of its big name rides too, like Valhalla, which draws in theme park enthusiasts from across the UK and beyond.
Away from the beach, work is taking place to restore the historic Winter Gardens and their surrounds to their former glory.
And the decision to film an episode of flagship BBC show Strictly Come Dancing at the Tower Ballroom every autumn has put Blackpool back in the public eye.
I'm hard-pressed to think of another UK seaside resort that has quite such a breadth of attractions for staycationers young and old.
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If you're an animal lover, there's the zoo or Sea Life to choose between.
For families who love to swim, there's the UK's largest indoor water park the Sandcastle, with 18 flumes and slides.
Not many towns have three piers to visit, as well as indoor attractions like Madame Tussauds waxworks, the dungeons, the arcades and crazy golf for the inevitable rainy days that are as much a part of a British seaside stay as a stick of rock or a seagull dive-bombing your chips.
If we're honest, we all secretly love a bit of kiss-me-quick kitsch to chase away the grey and Blackpool has this aplenty, with colourful shops and bars selling all manner of treats for kids and adults making the most of a well-earned holiday.
But the bright lights and hustle and bustle need to be in balance with quieter spots where you can sit and catch your breath, and it feels like Blackpool has got that right too.
With lots of us choosing a British break this year to save on the pennies, it's important to find somewhere that can offer good value for money, even if a UK staycay is no longer cheap as chips.
Heading north where prices are still a bit lower than in tourist hotspots like Cornwall or Norfolk is a good call and we tucked into a meal at the UK's cheapest chippy Tower Fisheries for less than a tenner for two of us.
Setting off home loaded with seaside goodies and sandy buckets, I think we had both fallen a little bit in love with this national treasure of a town.
In the future my family might be following in the footsteps of generations of Brits making an annual pilgrimage to the bright lights of Blackpool.
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Meanwhile, this invisible beach in a Yorkshire village has 180-million-year-old treasures.
And this stunning seaside village you’ve probably never heard of has been named among the best in the UK.
