Ray started the day with another nostalgic walk around Billinge. This photo is of the "blue hills" - sounds lovely doesn't it. He used to ride his bike over the "blue hills" when he was a lad. He says there were fresh bike tracks up there, so I guess boys in Billinge haven't changed much.
In actual fact the "blue hills" are slag heaps left over from the coal mines!
We set out for Blackpool soon after Ray returned from his walk. Blackpool is a very big seaside resort. We began our Blackpool experience with a pony and trap ride. Ray fed the pony a carrot after the ride was over.
There are two things Blackpool is particularly famous for - one is the tower (below). It's quite amazing. There is an aquarium, and 3D cinema, games arcades, a restaurant, a clown museum, heaven only knows what else and a magnificent ballroom (photos are lousy due to the lighting- so not included here).The ballroom is very ornate and has an organ that rises up from below the stage. The organist was playing and people were dancing - ballroom dancing. It was very enjoyable to sit and watch while we had morning tea.
Blackpool is miles of fun arcades and fortune tellers. It's all a bit crass for me and way too busy. I can't think of anywhere in Australia that even comes close. Coral Island (as just one example of many of the fun arcades) covers and entire city block!!
The second thing Blackpool is famous for is it's "Illuminations". There are very ornate lights strung up across the road for miles. I can imagine that it would look fabulous at night. You are probably best off to Google it to get any kind of proper idea of how it looks. In the pic below the larger lights at either side are probably mermaids (I can't remember which ones I took photos of), with smaller lights in patterns strung the whole width of the road.
I mixed up the order of the photos a bit, but this is from up the top of the tower. It's called the "Walk of Faith". A glass section of floor looking straight down to the road from a height of 518 feet.
Blackpool has three piers. All with games arcades and so forth. This is a view of a portion of one of them and some of the city from the tower.
Blackpool is miles of fun arcades and fortune tellers. It's all a bit crass for me and way too busy. I can't think of anywhere in Australia that even comes close. Coral Island (as just one example of many of the fun arcades) covers and entire city block!!
The second thing Blackpool is famous for is it's "Illuminations". There are very ornate lights strung up across the road for miles. I can imagine that it would look fabulous at night. You are probably best off to Google it to get any kind of proper idea of how it looks. In the pic below the larger lights at either side are probably mermaids (I can't remember which ones I took photos of), with smaller lights in patterns strung the whole width of the road.
I mixed up the order of the photos a bit, but this is from up the top of the tower. It's called the "Walk of Faith". A glass section of floor looking straight down to the road from a height of 518 feet.
Blackpool has three piers. All with games arcades and so forth. This is a view of a portion of one of them and some of the city from the tower.
I can't say Blackpool has been a highlight of the trip thus far, but being so close it was one of those things you just had to do. It wasn't a very pleasant day either so we decided to take a chance on waiting to put our feet in the Irish Sea when we go to Ireland at the end of the week.
Back to Billinge and the Stork Hotel for a bit of a rest before celebrating Ray's 60th.
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