Blackpool History, Mystery, Heritage and Hauntings

Sometimes nice things do happen ! I had meant to buy tickets to go and see Craig Charles in Blackpool as usual I forgot but saw on facebook on Bootleg Social a competition to win a VIP entry ... To cut a long story short - I WON !! Free entry in , free drinkies and the opportunity to see Craig at his best ! Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is a British actor, comedian, author, poet, television presenter and DJ. He is best known for playing Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera Coronation Street , as a funk and soul DJ on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 , and as the presenter of the gladiator-style game show Robot Wars from 1998 to 2004.  I have to say it's so nice to see someone who over the years has been in and out of the media to play a gig in a small local venue. While waiting outside as wanted to get some air Craig arrived just before 1am at the venue with his cousin, parked the car at...

Well the August Airshow 2018 is nearly upon us ... so I thought I would revisit and share some of the shots I have gathered over the years .... Spare Red at Blackpool Airport today as Southort was havng an Airshow  and right at the other side of the airport ... 2017 shots And from 2013

SHOW HOMES LAUNCH 30TH JUNE!!!! Well of course that got my attention - I used to work on the site of the National Savings Building so was interested to see that they had started to build some of the new houses... have a read of the introduction on the website... Nowadays Marton falls within the modern town of Blackpool, but a thousand years ago, there were several small hamlets of Little Marton, Great Marton and Marton Fold. The name comes from AngloSaxon ‘Mere-tun’ - and the mere or lake after which Marton is named is still there; in fact today, Marton Mere (and neighbouring Marton Moss) is a renowned local nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest, attracting all manner of birdlife, wildlife, flora and fauna. Marton itself is just three miles from the Lancashire coast, where central Blackpool meets the sea, and is close to the green enclave of Stanley Park, which contains the renowned Blackpool Zoo. Nearby Preston Old Road has a number of local neighbo...

For those of you that know me quite well - I have an interest in the paranormal and have a rather super friend called Stephen Mercer - he runs the following  http://www.supernaturalevents.co.uk Ghost walks and tours and much more well I was lucky enough to be able to attend the following on Thursday evening   Above is a very old photo of Blackpool Grammer School  Just on case you wanted an even older map ! See if you can spot where the site is ?!  Winstone House, part of The Citadel building in Blackpool and once home to the Grammar School is the latest location for our eerie events. You will be able to explore and investigate some of this amazing building including some of the old school rooms and offices as well as carry out some experiments including dowsing, Ouija sessions and more! All proceeds will to to charities supported by Horizon. Horizon offers drug, alcohol and non-clinical sexual health support to all residents of...

Well at least the title got your attention !  Ahh road works, was in town today  and of course the camera came along   The following from the Blackpool Council website - As part of our work to improve Blackpool town centre to create a better and more attractive place and to extend the tramway to Blackpool North Station there will be a number of road works over the coming months.  Tramway construction The next phase of our work will see us start work on the construction of the tramway in April with small areas closed along Talbot Road.  and of course from Jane Littlewood and Live In Blackpool  https://liveblackpool.info/about/getting-here/roadworks-in-blackpool/ The tramway is being extended to the railway station, the town centre will be getting a new conference centre, a new IMAX cinema is also being built. There will be more places to shop and eat, new four and five star hotels and the look and feel o...

Warton Hall Is situated in Lytham as is a Georgian Manor House (not open to the public but the gardens are ! ) set in 4 acre garden with Bluebell woodland walk, Bog Garden and Sculpture Trail. Japanese Water Garden and Dry Garden, and Gallery Courtyard. Creativity Classes in the Garden and Studio and Yoga under the 400 year old Weeping Hornbeam tree (book online) Art, plants and garden gifts for sale in the Conservatory. The Tearoom serves light refreshment including homemade cakes.  Well , why have I not visited before ! This place is stunning as are the cakes as well.. Kate Yates  ( BBFF and then some !! who was of course in her element with tree's and nature ! )   was also in attendance with me and wow - we had a brilliant time !  Now owned by Nicola & David Thompson - Warton Hall was once owned by Augustus Wykeham Clifton of the Clifton Family of Lytham Hall and in recent years the house and gardens have been renovated by the Th...

Goodbye to another building ! Council chiefs agreed in December that the Star Inn, on South Promenade, should be bulldozed to make way for a new £12m hotel on the site. Blackpool Pleasure Beach managing director Amanda Thompson revealed ambitious proposals to redevelop the land by building a 120-bedroom hotel to sit alongside the existing four-star Big Blue. A heritage report accompanying the application to pull down the Star describes the pub’s design as being “at odds” with the scale of surrounding buildings. It says the Star has “limited heritage merit” and the loss of the building will be outweighed by the value of the proposed replacement. Although the pub is a locally listed building, there was no objection to the demolition by Blackpool Council’s conservation officer, but a request has been made for a historical record to be made of the site prior to any work commencing. Read more at: https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/business/demolition-of-well-known-bl...