My bruises have bruises. I'm blaming the cheerleading. Review writing is a whole lot less dangerous....
My bruises have bruises. I'm blaming the cheerleading. Review writing is a whole lot less dangerous.
Member since:08.07.2001
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Blackpool has over 90 000 beds available at any one time, which amounts to a lot of tourists. Add this to the fact that it has been known, on occasion, to rain in the north of England, and you have a lot of bored looking visitors wandering around in 99p fluorescent plastic macs looking for things to do. The solution? A trip to the shops.
Blackpool has quite a few of these. There’s your average Marks and Spencers, and WH Smiths and HMV, your quaint little rock and fudge shops and the rather too vulgar for natives’ liking seafront stretch of “quality” retailers selling fake boobs and blow up, ahem, appendages. These are collected together in a fairly compact area, in the middle of which we find the Hounds Hill Shopping Centre.
The centre was built in 1981 which makes it even older than me, and was refurbished in 1997 when I was prating away my time at school, unaware that GCSEs were on the horizon. It provides over 100 000 sq ft of selling space and features about 50 shops including
Supersnaps
Dorothy Perkins
The Duty Free Shoppe (see the way they spell “Shoppe”? They think it adds class and distinction. Bless).
Superdrug
Internationale (pronounced in-ter-natch-eee-on-al, not international)
Early Learning Centre (which had great slides when I was an infant)
Claire’s Accessories (which has been there since the days of Bow Bangles)
Wittard Coffee
Barretts
Unfortunately some of the best shops – the Sweater Shop, Bay Trading and Mothercare (they do nice quilt covers…) – have upped and left over the years. Along with the permanent shops, there are quite often temporary handcarts in the centre, offering some unusual items at reasonable prices. Chances are you will still need to do some shopping outside the center, but it’s not a bad starting point, and provides more than adequate shelter when it starts to pour.
Up on the top level they have a newish food court which offers baguettes and soups and sandwiches at not too expensive prices. There are other cafes within the complex, and occasionally stands will appear on the ground floor, selling fabulous ice creams along with hideously over priced drinks (who on earth is going to pay £1.50 for a can of coke when the newsagents 2m away have them for 40p?)
Ideally located in the town centre between the Winter Gardens and the Promenade, this place can get busy, particularly in mid summer and around Christmas. At the latter Santa and has little helpers usually move in, helping to transform the place into a winter wonderland. This place is easy to reach by bus (“City Centre”), train (to Blackpool North) and cars (the centre alone has space for 1500 vehicles, and there are plenty of other car parks nearby – just follow town centre signs after you pass North pier (when coming from the north) or South pier (when coming from the south)
Security wise, there are guards patrolling the centre at all times, along with the ones employed by individual shops, so do a Winona and chances are you will get busted. Facilities include toilets (male / female / disabled / baby changing), telephones, a scattering of seats and both lifts and escalators, along with obligatory stairs. Houndshill is an ok shopping environment although some of the patrons leave a little to be desired. It’s clean, if not sparkling, and well, if not wonderfully, laid out and sign posted.
The centre is open 7 days a week generally, but opening hours do vary, so call in advance to check (telephone number is 01253 24722)
After getting used to the Trafford Centre and even the Arndale Centre to a lesser extent, going home and seeing Blackpool’s answer to covered shopping areas can be a bit of an anticlimax, but I will shop there when I’m in the area. I wouldn’t recommend you making a special trip though, and one of the websites I was on (which won’t be named since it’s so pants) took it a bit far in my opinion by listing the ways to get there :
“Fly up to Blackpool airport” it said, “or take a train or coach from anywhere in the UK”.
From the Fylde bit of Lancashire, maybe, but coming all the way from the south, just for this? Complete waste of time.
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Hounds Hill Shopping Centre Blackpool, Lancashire FY1 4HU
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I think your ads and disads sum this place up perfectly. I really like the centre, but often couldn't find what I wanted. I taught in Blackpool between '96 and '98 - wonder if it was the same school! Paul.
Ophelia 12.06.2003 10:28
Too far for me to go anyway!
AnitaM 10.06.2003 22:51
I always found the Hounds Hill centre a little on the small side but like you said, a good place to start.
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Advantages: lots of shops, shelter from rain, perfect for holiday makers, good shops Disadvantages: Probably will be expensive, lots of building work for locals.
Advantages: lots of shops, shelter from rain, perfect for holiday makers, good shops Disadvantages: Probably will be expensive, lots of building work for locals.
Jun 10th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
