Blackpool

Blackpool was a hamlet, which it began to grow in the mid-eighteenth century, when sea bathing for health purposes became fashionable. Already by 1781 several hotels had been built. The opening of a railway station in the 1846 allowed more visitors to reach the resort, which continued to grow for the remainder of the nineteenth century. The development was closely tied to the Lancashire cotton-mill practice of annual factory maintenance shutdowns, known as wakes weeks, when many workers chose to visit the seaside.

When I visited Blackpool the first time in the second half of the 1960s, Blackpool was still in a fascinating, glittering swing. But since then the Mediterranean region has become the most popular holiday destination for British summer holidaymakers.

Blackpool, one of the cradles of modern mass tourism, has suffered greatly from the development of "package tourism". Behind the polished seafront is now one of the poorest towns in England

Pier