We have recently come back from Blackpool where we celebrated my daughter eighteenth birthday. It was the second time my wife and I had been to Blackpool, and first time we declared we never liked it and didn’t want to return. But this time things were different.

The first experience was the trams; a day pass (which also allows you to use the buses) is £5.00 per person and runs on the day of purchase. Single tickets and longer day’s passes are available. I particularly liked the trams and enjoyed riding back and forth to the hotel and more each time we chose to use them. However I didn’t feel they represented particular value for money.

The tower has a lot to offer and costs £12 per person, you can of course chose to ride the lift to the top and take the walk of faith – across the clear glass flooring panel – with a very long drop below you. Alternatively you can opt to go for coffee, or chose a dinosaur ride or visit the ballroom.

We managed to find a pet shop, in which there were various live animals (well they wouldn’t sell if they were not alive I suppose). But I was slightly dismayed to find kittens and puppies on sale along with birds, and other small animals. I couldn’t quite get my head around the fact that they were cooped up in a shop. That said they looked healthy enough, though the puppies did seem to want attention, each time a visitor went to stroke them they ‘clung’ to them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy them all and take them home.

I was a little shocked though, before we came everyone was saying how cheap it was up north and we would get some great bargains. It really isn’t that cheap or if it is we never found it (apart form the pound shops)

Not only does the pleasure beach have various stomach churning rides, but you can also see various shows. We were lucky enough to see the show named ‘Eclipse’, which was fabulously entertaining and aurally pleasant, add the heat from the fire and the wet from the rain – and you’re in for a great two hours. Some of the stunts done were nothing less than dramatic.

I found the access along the seafront reasonable EXCEPT when crossing the tram lines. This was a right pain in the jacksy – as to speak. There were very few dropped kerbs across the tram lines thus making live really difficult. However if you stayed on one side the walk along the seafront is generally flat with a slight incline towards the north end. Access into most shops is okay in a normal wheelchair, though as scooter type buggy might be more difficult; and there is of course the odd place or six that you simply couldn’t get into regardless or type of chair. One of these is an amusement arcade along the seafront, the machines were that tight up – it would have been impossible to get a babies buggy through the gap let alone a wheelchair.

Blackpool is one of the UK’s most popular holiday resorts – and on this trip I could see why. There is a lot to do, and we only really had time to check out the seafront side. There are things like shows, the zoo, and travel a little further a field for even more things to enjoy. So overall I would recommend Blackpool.

However I should also tell you money goes like water: Our accommodation basis was bed, breakfast and evening meal, and still we managed to spend £700, with over £100 being spent on pleasure beach! So not cheap but certainly enjoyable.