Photos

This is the second in a short series, please see my other posts for further information and images.


My wife has for some time wanted to walk the entire 6 miles of the sea front illuminations at Blackpool - we of course chose a night when it was raining...

From the net...

The 19th Century saw the rapid development of Blackpool as a major resort for the industrial working classes of Lancashire and Yorkshire. In 1801 the towns population stood at 473, only a century later it had reached 47,348.
The railway was introduced to the area in 1840 and by 1846 the railway had reached Talbot Road allowing the development of cheap excursion trains from industrial Lancashire and Yorkshire and for the first time bringing many thousands of working people to the resort.
Many of Blackpool's most famous attractions were built in the second half of the nineteenth century including, North Pier (1863) Central Pier (1868) South Pier (1894) the Tower (1894), the Grand Theatre (1894) and the gigantic wheel at the Winter Gardens (1896).
Blackpool was also the first place in the world to have electric street lighting in 1879, with the installation of the electric arc street lighting system.
Municipal history in Blackpool began in this period when the new town was granted a Charter of Incorporation as a Borough on the 21st January 1876.
Dr William Henry Cocker was the first Mayor.

In 1904 the rapidly developing town was constituted as a County Borough, a status the town retained until the 1974 reorganisation of local government, and is now set to regain this unitary status in April 1998 as the century draws to a close.
Many more of Blackpool's famous attractions were developed in the early part of the twentieth century including the Pleasure Beach (1905) and Stanley Park (1926). The Illuminations were first created in 1912, the means to extend the holiday season by a massive eight weeks more than their competitors.
During the Second World War tourism reduced but Blackpool welcomed over three quarters of a million servicemen to be given their initial training in the Winter Gardens.
Post War Blackpool has seen a marked shift from rail to road transportation.
In 1964 Central station was closed and the area was immediately developed to produce additional car parking. In 1975 the M55 opened, linking Blackpool to the national motorway network. In January 1986 the land of the former railway line was used to build the link road, Yeadon Way, from the motorway to one of the largest open area car parks in the country, catering for the ever increasing demand for car and coach parking.