Ali's Travel Tales

Ribble Steam Railway

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 16:11:00 +0000

http://www.ribblesteam.org.uk/

Based on the docks at Preston.

The world of Beatrix Potter Bowness-on-Windefrmere Cumbria

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:13:00 +0000

The world of Beatrix Potter, a set on Flickr.

http://www.hop-skip-jump.com/

The world of Beatrix Potter in Bowness-on-Windermere is worth a visit if you love Beatrix Potter. You receive an activity booklet to work on as move through the Exhibition. Enjoy.

South Lakes Animal Park

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 19:06:00 +0000

South Lakes Animal Park, a set on Flickr.

Loved it. Love the Wooden walkways which get you closer to the animals. If you get a dry day it is great

Stanley Park Motor Cycle Show

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Stanley Park Motor Cycle Show, a set on Flickr.

London 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:50:00 +0000

London 2012, a set on Flickr.

Photos from around London, following our recent trip in june.

Scarecrow Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 16:10:00 +0000

Scarecrow Festival, a set on Flickr.

Salisbury Woodland Blackpool. Saturday 30th June 2012.

Gemini Ali's photostream

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Gemini Ali's photostream on Flickr.

Farmer Parrs' Animal World Fleetwood. http://farmerparrs.com/

Gemini Ali's photostream

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:37:00 +0000

Gemini Ali's photostream on Flickr.

Grand National 2012. Saturday 14th April 2012

Gemini Ali's photostream

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 20:47:00 +0000

Gemini Ali's photostream on Flickr.

Barton Grange Garden Centre, Near Preston

Butlins Skegness September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:49:00 +0000

I went to Butlins every year as child from being 6 years old to 16 years old. We went to Pwhelli for
the first year then Ayr in Scotland every year after than (both are now Haven Holiday camps).
I now have a family of my own with a little boy who is 2 (nearly 3) so as much as we love our sun holidays, feel that Butlins is more suitable and I hope he has as much fun as I did as a child. On this trip, we took my sister as well who has downs syndrome.

We have just come back from Skegness, where we did a Monday - Friday in a Silver apartment but with half board Premium Dining. We wanted an apartment rather than just a room so that we had a proper living room and Kitchen should we want to make snacks for lunch (as it happened we didn't need to). We went to Butlins last year also when my little boy was 1 and he didn't really join in as much and was terrified of the characters, but this year he had his picture taken with Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder and Thomas and the fat controller, he also loved the rides for under 5's in Bob's yard and the mini discos.
We made the mistake last year of going self catering and it cost us a fortune in food so decided that this year would be half board. We booked the premium dining option and our restaurant was the Yacht Club. The food was lovely and there was plenty of choice and the staff were polite and helpful. I have lisyted the below a diary of our week so you can see all the things available. Sometimes we found there were a couple of things on at the same time in different venues, so we struggled with that.

Monday - We arrived around 2.30pm at Butlins, and although you can check in then, the keys for accommodation are not activated until 4pm. Therefore we decided to have a wander around and went to the funfair. The main funfair has a couple of child rides, but it is mostly adult rides consisting of Dodgems, Mexican Hat, Umbrella and a few others. There is a family carousel, trampolines, jungle train but most children's rides (for under 5's) is in Bob's yard. There is quite a large soft play area in the arcade which has a baby bit, young children's and an area for older children too. Once we checked into our accommodation (silver apartment), we freshened up and headed to the Yacht Club for tea. (4pm-7pm). After tea, there are 2 under 5's disco's at Reds and Skyline Pavilion, which my little boy loved.
This was one of the nights that there were 2 shows on at the same time that we wanted to watch. One was a Tribute to Kylie Minogue and the other was an Abba Sing along. The Kylie show won so we headed
over to Reds to watch the show which was great.

Tuesday - Breakfast is served between 8am and 11am, so after breakfast we headed over to the Skyline Pavilion to watch the Little Big Club featuring Bob the Builder, Pingu among others. Then we went to Reds to watch the Loony Tunes Experience with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Tweetie Pie which my little boy had never watched before but does now. After lunch, we went swimming in the Splash Waterworld, which is really big and has a toddler area, so my little man loved that. After swimming, we headed back to the chalet top get freshened up before tea. After tea, we headed to the Skyline Pavilion for the under 5's disco and then the Skyline Gang in Celebration.

Wednesday - After breakfast today, we headed over to Kickabout Quay for the 0-5's play around which included basketball, tennis, football skills and other games. At 11am there was a soccer tots session which was great especially as my little boy goes to a club at home called Little Kickers where they are taught football skills for 18 months to 4 years and this was very similar. At lunchtime, my husband took our little boy to Papa John's restaurant for lunch, while I went and got pampered at The Spa. Papa John's do a special all you can eat pizza, pasta and salad for £8.95 per adult and £3.95 per child at lunchtime. The Spa is lovely and I had a Garra Fish Foot spa which was £10 and a facial at £40.The only thing my sister had a hot stones back massage at £40. I find disappointing is that if you have any treatments, it doesn't include use of the Spa pool, sauna etc. If you want to use these facilities, the cost is an extra £16 for one and a half hour or £20 for 3 hours. I just think that it would be better if they discounted the rate if you are having Treatments. However the treatments are great and the spa is lovely.

In the afternoon, we took our little boy to Bob's yard for him to go on the rides which he loved. When he went on the lady bird ride, he kept shouting 'faster Gaston' (Gaston is the lady bird who barks on Ben and Holly's little Kingdom.) After tea, we headed to the Skyline Pavilion for the under 5's disco then the Skyline Gang meet and greet and the Redcoats Disco. My hubby wanted to see The Beatles Experience which was on at Centre Stage. They were very good and even my little boy was still awake and was clapping while they were on.

Thursday - My little boy wanted to meet Fireman Sam, and there was a photo shoot with him at 1130, so after breakfast we went to Bob's Yard so that the little man could go on some rides until it was time for the photo shoot. We were a bit wary as to whether he would actually go and meet Fireman Sam as in the past, he has been terrified if characters came near him, even in July in Scotland he was scared of their mascots. We queued for about half an hour and when it was our turn, the redcoat asked him if he wanted to go on his own or with us and he said on his own. He actually loved it and went of his own accord which really shocked us. After the photo shoot, my little boy went swimming with his dad and as I couldn't be bothered going again, so I took my sister to the Skyline Pavilion as she wanted to watch the Skyline Gang cheerleading, and then the Redcoat Cheerleading. After swimming, my husband and little boy met us in the Skyline Pavilion for the Thomas Skyline Adventure. After Thomas, it was the Skyline Gang in Junk Funk which my 2 year old put his hand up and volunteered himself to go up and do sime drumming. We had to take him away after his little gig as he wanted to go to the Bob the Builder Photo shoot. It's all go go go.

After tea, we headed over to the Skyline for the Tots disco and then queued up to get into the Centre Stage Theatre to watch the Redcoat Show 2011 - Celebrating 75 years of Butlins. Centre Stage is always busy and there is always a queue early on to get in. The redcoat show was great and because I went to Butlins from being a young child, it was funny to see how much Butlins had changed over the years. One memory I do have was Billy Butlin died while we were at Butlins in Ayr many years ago, I remember an announcement was made
at the time.

After the Redcoat show which my little boy really enjoyed (especially Billy Bear), he was saying he was tired and wanted to go to bed. (Too much excitement for one day), so my husband took him back to the chalet, while myself and my sister headed over to Reds for the Beautiful World Show celebrating the music of Take That. They were excellent and sang old and new songs and everybody was up dancing.

Friday - Boo hoo, don't want to go home.
We decided to check out before breakfast as you need to be out of your accommodation before 10am. After breakfast, we went to the fun fair for one last thrill and took the little man to the toy shop. We left Butlins at around 1230pm after having lunch at Burger King. We wanted to book next year's holiday at the shop before we left but couldn't as we need to check we can have the time off first. I will be coming back next year whatever anyway and will be booking as soon as possible.

Although we have done a lot this week, there is so many things that we didn't get time to do and next year there will be even more stuff.

See you next year Butlins and thanks for a fab holiday x

Butlins 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Butlins 2011, a set on Flickr.

some photos from our trip to Butlins. My little boy who is nearly 3 loved it.

Lego Discovery Centre Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:22:00 +0000

Below is some pictures from the Lego Discovery Centre at The Trafford Centre Manchester. Prices start at £6.75 per adult for a fixed time ticket and £11.75 for a flexi ticket. You can buy tickets with Tesco Club card Vouchers too.

Britannia Country House Didsbury

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:05:00 +0000

We booked our night away at the Britannia Country House Hotel via Travelzoo from one of their top 20 deals that they send out every week.

We paid £60 for three of us in the room, being myself, hubby and my little man who is 2. The deal was £50 for dinner, bed and breakfast and a bottle of wine in the room and it was just an extra £10 to take my little boy with us.
When the top 20 email comes into my inbox every Wednesday, I scan to see what I can book next, with most deals, you can book online or by telephone.

The Hotel is about twenty minutes from Manchester city centre, and is very close and handy for Manchester Airport. There is a Britannia Hotel a little nearer to the airport which is the South Manchester Britannia Hotel and is 3 miles from the airport.
The Britannia Country House Hotel is a lovely hotel in a nice setting with a long driveway. There are quite a few different car parks within the grounds. There were 2 weddings going on when we were there so it was quite busy. We had prepaid for the Hotel when we booked, so we were checked in very quickly. Our room was on the third floor and was quite big with a double bed and a single bed in it. It was clean and had a fabulous bathroom with a large jacuzzi bath in it.

The Health Centre is called Spindles Health and Leisure Club and even residents have to pay (although it is a discounted rate) but entry was included with the deal we had booked. There is the main pool and a toddler pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna as well as a fully equipped gym. We spent the afternoon in the pool and took it in turns to go in the sauna and steam room while the other played with our little boy.

We had our evening meal booked for 7pm and we were seated very quickly. It was a carvery, the waiters came and served starters and for the main meal and dessert, you could help yourselves. We had gammon which I have to say was delicious and for dessert, there was a choice of gateaux, ice cream or fruit salad.

There is a residents bar which is open until late, we chose to sit outside so that our little man could have a run around. I do think it bit of a shame, that there is so much land around the Hotel (which is mainly car parks) but no play areas.

We had our breakfast the next morning before checking out which was lovely and had loads of choice. There was a choice of full English, croissants, choice of cereals, fruit and/or yoghurts. I suppose if you are really hungry, you could have all of it.

Our checkout was very quick as we had already pre paid for everything, so we decided to head over to the Lowry Outlet Mall for a bit of retail therapy. They are always advertising on the television so thought we could go and grab a bargain. It took about 15 minutes to drive there at Salford Quays, there is plenty of parking and you get up to 4 hours free parking if you make a purchase at one of the shops. You just go and get your card stamped from the information desk.

There are more shops than I thought there would be, as we live quite near to Freeport outlet Mall which is a little smaller. We got a few bargains in Gap and Nike store, there is also Trespass, Whistles, Marks and Spencer's, Home and Craft world, Cadbury and many more. There is a food court, Vue Cinema and Lowry Theatre which always has lots of shows on. The Trafford Centre is not too far away or if you fancy a bit of skiing or snowboarding there is the Chill Factore close by. For the kids there is the Lego Discovery centre which is located within the Trafford Centre and is well worth a visit.

All in all, we had a great weekend and can't wait for the next Travel zoo deal that we can book.

Blackpool Air Show

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Blackpool Air Show, a set on Flickr.

Sunday 7th August 2011

Mabie Farm Park

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:24:00 +0000

On the final day of our weekend in Southerness (we stayed at Parkdean Holiday Village), we decided to head to Mabie Farm Park. Mabie farm park is in the Dumfries and Galloway countryside and is in a beautiful setting. It is about 15 minutes drive from Southerness and I cannot recommend it enough for a day out if you have children regardless of their age. My little boy is 2 years old and loves animals and we even have an annual pass for Blackpool Zoo.

Mabie farm is owned and operated by Julia and Allan Shuttleworth and have made it a very enjoyable, fun day out. It costs £6.50 for adults and £6.00 for children admission. You can also buy bags of food at 50 pence and you are asked four legs or two?. This is because they sell food for the goats and pigs and also the ducks and chicks.
The park is open daily from 10am until 5pm from April until 30 October. There is plenty of parking available.

The day that we went to the farm was beautiful weather and there was even talk on the radio, that it was the hottest day so far. There are activities for all weather conditions. The animals that you can see are goats. pigs, lambs, buffalo, cows, Shetland ponies and many more. There are also birds such as peacocks, quail, hens, guinea fowl and ducks plus many more. There are also donkeys available and donkey rides for the children (they are provided with riding hats.)

The outdoor facilities consist of four lane astroslide, bouncy castles (to suit different ages), a huge jumping pillow (that I really wanted to play on but not really appropriate), 2 AstroTurf grass slides for grass sledging, quad bikes for the older children and a huge area for running around or just playing. There is also a small express that runs around the farm, a boating pond and pedal go karts for children 4 plus. My little boy's favourite was the children's wooden houses which is situated near to trampolines, there are either 3 or 4 plus a plastic one and he loved playing in them.

Should the weather be a bit rubbish, then there is still plenty of indoor activities going on. There is a straw barn with rope swings and bales of hay to play with, an indoor climbing wall, keep fit area for toddlers and ride on tractors. There is of course the indoor barns with the goats, pigs etc as well.

In the afternoons, there is an opportunity to handle some of the smaller residents such as guinea pigs, mice and rabbits. There are picnic areas scattered around the farm and you are permitted to bring your own food and have picnic, there is just a sign at the cafe asking that it is just used for people buying food, which is fair enough. You are also permitted to bring your portable barbeque's and there is an area set aside for this.

I was quite surprised at how reasonable the food was in the cafe/tea room, as usually when you go to tourist attractions and there is nowhere else close by to buy food, you get ripped off. They sell hot and cold food, snacks, crisps and sweets and there is also an ice cream counter selling the local 'cream of Galloway' ice cream.

I forgot to mention above that some of the rides such as Donkey rides, quad bikes, paddle boat and the choo choo express, there is an additional charge for but everything else is included in your admission. On the way out (and on the way in) you go via the shop. The shop sells toys, wellies and raincoats as well as home made items such as jams, cakes (inc coffee cake which was yummy) and other home made items.

We found Mabie Farm quite by accident while looking for something outside of Parkdean to do in our weekend. I don't think we have anything like this anywhere near where I live, which is such a shame as it was a great day out. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend the whole day as we had to travel home, but we had a good few hours or so which went to quickly and our little boy didn't want to go.

If you are staying in the Dumfries/Galloway area or at Southerness, then I recommend a day here especially of you get good weather as it does make a difference. But whatever you decide to do, enjoy your visit.

Southerness July 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:29:00 +0000

We booked our Parkdean Weekend break via the Sun Newspaper £9.50 holidays ages ago. We have never booked one before so was a little dubious. Of course it isn't £9.50 as you have all the extras like under occupancy supplement if there aren't 4 of you, bedding, summer supplements (if required) and entertainment passes (at most parks), but it was still good value for money. We had put 4 choices down and was booked into Parkdean at Southerness which is on the Solway Coast near Dumfries.

It is a beautiful area and took about 2 and half hours from Blackpool to get there. We checked in very quickly and our caravan was near to all the amenities (which we were surprised at - we thought we would be furthest away). The caravan was a 2 bedroom static and spotlessly clean. The bedding was on the table for us to make up, but there was plenty of room in the living and kitchen area. The bedrooms and bathroom were tiny, but this is to be expected.

Parkdean is only small on a scale with Butlins had has everything that you need for a break away. The entertainment crew are called 'Troupers' and the children's entertainment are defined by ages. Tot Stars are under 4's, Starlanders are under10's and Freestyle is 10 and over but not quite adults. There is a full entertainment programme everyday from 10am where there is an hour of different activities for different age groups. Lizzie the Lizard and Sid the seagull are the mascots who entertain the children. My little boy was terrified just as he was at Butlins last year when he met a 6 foot Bob the Builder.

Doors to the show bar open at 6.30pm in the evening and until 8.30pm it is mainly family entertainment with silly games, shows and a disco. At 8.30pm there is bingo then cabaret and then a disco. This does vary depending on what day of the week it is. We were there Friday to Monday and dropped very lucky with the weather as it was scorching hot. There is a water splash (Flume Lagoon) which I believe only opened this year which has children's pools, flumes and is great. The thing that impressed me about it is the way it is run. When you go into the pool, you are given a coloured band, so you only get a limited swimming time (not sure what it is, around 2 hours I think). After the period of time, the lifeguard calls your coloured band and you get out. But this means that the pool is never crowded and there are never huge queues for the slides, also something which is worth a mention is that they have proper hairdryers in the changing rooms. (not the rubbish air blowers that are in most public swimming pools).

There are a couple of outdoor play areas and an indoor play area for the kids to enjoy. All the entertainment and swimming pool is in the Venue which also has amusements, Costa Coffee, The Show bar, Takeaway and a bar which has a full food menu offering food all day from 10am including The Highland Breakfast (the food is reasonably priced considering you are in a Holiday Park). There is also a Launderette on the site and an over priced Costcutter shop which sells everything you could possible need for your break.

Parkdean is on the Solway Coast Road so you have the beach on your doorstep and there is a signposted footpath to the beach from the park. There is also a Southerness nature trail guide and you can ask reception for the nature trail quiz and I believe if you complete it then you receive a certificate. One thing worth mentioning is cash machines, there is one on site but there is a charge of £1.60 to use it so I wouldn't recommend this. Parkdean has a customer service level which they want to be excellent so all the staff wear a little badge which is a pair of feet meaning (we walk in your shoes).

The customer service is excellent and when you eat in the bar, the staff come over and make sure everything is OK and ask you to fill out a survey at the end. But even in the pool area, entertainment and reception the staff were all friendly and helpful.

We did only have 3 nights at Parkdean from Friday to Monday and I think we had the best weather of the year so far as it was scorching hot. On the Saturday morning, we took our little man to Tot Stars - Tot Crafts and he made finger monsters and loved it.

This finished at 11am, then we took him to the beach to tire him out some more and he collected shells in his bucket. Then in the afternoon, we went swimming just to finish him off. In the evening, we went to the show bar from 6.30pm until 8.30pm when bingo starts. We decided to go back to our caravan and have a barbeque as it was still really warm, (We brought disposable ones with us).

On the Sunday at 10am it was Tot Stars - Music Tots where they got to try and play with different musical instruments and he loved this. Later on we drove to Dumfries which is about 15 miles away and took about 20 minutes or so. There were quite a few free car parks which we were amazed at as they don't exist in Blackpool. Dumfries is lovely and we had a walk around the town centre and shops and then took a walk down to the river.

In the evening, we headed to the show bar for the mini disco until bingo started at 8.30 then took our little man back to the caravan and put him to bed and watched television. (I really didn't mind missing out on the bingo!). Checkout is at 10am and the beds have to be stripped ready for the cleaners to go in. On the Monday of our departure, we took a drive to Dalbeattie which took about 20 minutes and is a very small town compared to Dumfries, but has a few shops and the people were very friendly. I bought my square sausage and Haggis to take back south with me from the butchers.

We spent most of the day at Mabie farm Park which I am going to blog separately as it was a great day and there is so much to do and I would definitely recommend it. It is only about 10 minutes from Southerness and has things for every age group to do from feeding the animals to riding Quad bikes. Not far from Southerness in the opposite direction to Dumfries is a small village called Sandyhills which has a beautiful sandy beach and I would recommend this if you are stuck for something to do. If I had more time, I would like to drive the scenic road to Gretna Green as it is supposed to be beautiful. There is also the Gretna Green outlet village which has outlet stores including M & S, Ralph Lauren, Rockport and many others. I would recommend this area and Parkdean at Southerness is great for families and will be going back soon.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach - Nickelodeon Land

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 13:24:00 +0000

I have lived in Blackpool for most of my life and spent many a happy time at Blackpool Pleasure Beach . I remember when they used to have rides before the season started at 15p many years ago when I was a child then it went up to 50p and as the rides got better so did the prices. I fell out of love with the Pleasure Beach when they started charging an entrance fee to get in of £5 per person as well as paying for each individual ride or buying wristbands.

However since I now have a child of my own who goes mad every time we drive past and see Dora, I thought it was time we made an effort and took him. He is 2 and is Dora mad. As I have got older, I have become a bit of a baby when it comes to rides and don't really go on anything which is why I begrudge paying an entrance fee, plus the fact that I think it should like Alton Towers where you pay to get in and everything is included or pay individually but not both.

Anyway we just wanted to have a nosey so decided not to buy wristbands on this occasion as we didn't know if he would actually go on anything (we went to Butlins last year and he wouldn't go on any rides). He was very excited when we got in and watched the Ice Blast shoot up in the air. We made our way over to Nickelodeon Land (previously Beaver Creek) and I don't think he knew what to make of all the rides and everything that was going on. A couple of the rides were not open as Nickelodeon Land only opened in April. The Rugrats Lost River and Spongebob's Splash Bash were 2 that were not operating.

You can pay for rides individually rather than buy a wristband if you choose, but if you are planning on making a day of it then it would be cheaper to buy a wristband. Each ride requires so many tickets (if paying individually), tickets can be bought in the shop at £1 each and the rides required 2,3 or 4 tickets per person depending on which ride. There is a mini stage and shows throughout the day in Nickelodeon Land and you can meet Dora and Spongebob Characters.

If like me you don't tend to go on the rides or buy a wristband, the entrance fee includes a ride on the Pleasure Beach Express Train round the park, The Chinese Puzzle maze, The South Beach show and The dancing water show. There are rides for every age and every taste. I am glad that the pleasure beach has kept some of the old rides such as the Revolution, Grand National and Steeplechase to name a few.

As I think I mentioned before, it has been many years since I last went to Blackpool Pleasure Beach and I remember lots of burger and over priced fast food stalls. There are still burger and fast food stalls but one thing I did notice was there were restaurants with fairly priced meal deals, such as the Gourmet Burger meal deal which was £5.95 for adults (burger, fries and a drink) and £3.95 (approx) for kids meal. There was a pizza deal on as well which I think was all you can eat for £7.95.

There are lots of stalls selling drinks, souvenirs and food all over the park and it is very easy to get around. As well as an amusement Park or Resort as it now calls itself, Blackpool Pleasure Beach has lots of shows too. The Hot Ice show has been going for years and is always a great show worth seeing or if you fancy yourself as the next Torvill or Dean, you can actually go ice skating as the rink is within the park. There is also Ken Websters Hypnotist show for over 18's, When Frankie met Robbie and Circus of Horrors plus many more for which details are on the Blackpool Pleasure Beach website under entertainment. Also don't forget to watch the dancing Fountains which are situated near the Haunted House.

There are loads of Hotels around the Blackpool Pleasure Beach including The Big Blue Hotel, which I believe is owned by or classed as part of the pleasure beach. This is a four star family Hotel next door to the pleasure beach. If you want something cheaper but just as close, there is the Travelodge which is a 5 minute walk and has rooms from £19.99 (when they have offers on), but you do have to pay for parking even though it has its own car park. The Hotel has a covered car park which is £8 per 24 hours and only had 16 spaces. There is an open car Park attached to it and I do know they charge £5 for up to 8 hours but not sure what it goes up to after that.

Don't park in the South Beach car park across the road from the Pleasure Beach unless you have to as it is very expensive. There are lots of car parks dotted around and a few at the back of the Pleasure Beach on Bond Street which will be cheaper. If you want luxury, then there is the 5* Boutique Hotel a few minutes walk called Number 1 South Beach. As well as celebrities staying there, Channel Four's Hotel Inspector visited it too. There is of course loads of Hotels and B and B's along the promenade too, for more information go to the Visit Blackpool website.

I do think that the Pleasure Beach is a great family day out (albeit very expensive) and they always have offers on especially if you book online and there is something for every age and taste. I am going to take my little one again but will wait until the kids go back to school in September as when I went last week on a Monday, it was lovely and quiet and we didn't queue for anything but I imagine its going to be a very busy summer holiday for them. Enjoy x

Take That Progress Tour 2011 - Manchester

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 10:12:00 +0000

I have been a Take That fan since the mind 1990's and have been to at least one show every time they have performed in their home town of Manchester since 1995 and think they always put on a fab show. I went to the Circus Tour and would have argued with anybody that that Gig could not be bettered when I heard they were going to be doing a Tour in 2011.

The day the tickets went on sale, my hubby and I nearly divorced when it looked like I wasn't going to get tickets. I had logged onto my account with Ticketmaster at 0845 (tickets on sale at 9am) and felt confident that I was logged in and would have no problems. How wrong I was. At 9am as I tried to book my tickets, the website crashed (I was on my laptop and hubby tried on his computer). As I panicked, we decided that we would try and get them over the phone. Hubby tried to get onto Seatwave and a couple of other reputable companies but it was the same with all of them.
Anyway after 2 hours of constantly trying on the phone and throwing my toys out of the pram, I finally managed to book tickets over the phone for Sunday 5th June 2011at City of Manchester Stadium, and my poor hubby wasn't even going!

I had heard that the Pet Shop boys were supporting and was happy as love all their songs. The day of the gig came and we were all happy, their were 8 of us in total getting a minibus to the stadium from Blackpool at £17 each which I thought was pretty reasonable. There was a fan zone at the stadium which open from 12pm lunchtime and would stay open until 6am the next morning should the demand be there. The queues to get in were huge and I am glad we got there in plenty of time. We had heard that they were being strict about what you could take in to the stadium but the security must have had a field day.

There was a big pile of confiscated items such as unopened boxes of chocolate, a picnic including chicken legs, bags of unopened crisps among other items including umbrellas. Basically we were told you could take unopened bottles of water in only. When we got in, we were told that all we could stand anywhere or sit in any seats that were available as the reserved seats were in a different area. We managed to get seats a few rows from the front in a block near the stage and had a great view. The heavens opened so we were grateful for a seat undercover.

The Pet Shop Boys came on about 7.30 and did all their popular songs that everybody knew including 'West End Girls', 'Left to my own devices', and a few others. They were on for about 45 minutes and got the crowd going.
Take That came on at about 8.30pm to lots of screaming and excitement with 'Greatest Day', and they didn't disappoint. They did a few songs as a foursome then went of stage and Robbie came on and opened with 'Let me entertain you' and sang other favourites such as 'Rock DJ', 'Come Undone' and 'Feel', and I fell back in love with him again. I always liked Robbie and was gutted when he left Take That and went to watch him in Leeds on his Tour a few years ago.

He was OK and think (after reading his book) that it was a tough time for him as I was a little disappointed with his performance.
He kept waffling and seemed as though was on something but tonight, he was definitely back with a bang and the love was back. He was the confident, cocky Robbie that everybody loves and a proper showman and when he finished his solo set with Angels, the stadium erupted. Robbie sang a few songs on his own then Take That were back on as a five piece.

The stage had a long runway with another stage at in the middle of the stadium so that wherever you were sitting you could see. They had a proper big show with loads of dancers and fireworks and sang songs from every decade. Jason and Howard did a break dancing dance off and Gary a couple of songs on the piano including 'Million love songs' which is one of my personal favourites. Robbie did 'Lulu's bit on 'Relight my Fire' and there was a couple of Robbie's solo songs thrown in such as Rudebox.

They did about 2 1/2 hours in total including Robbie's set and I loved every second in fact I loved it so much I went again. (More about that later). There was a huge mechanical man on stage which moved about and at one point they actually used the hands as a mini stage. As I said before, I would have argued with the Circus could not be out done but I was wrong, this was bigger and better than any Take That gig I have ever been to before. I think also that Manchester City Stadium was a great venue and a great atmosphere.

The only complaint I would have about that night was there were not many toilets in the stadium (or didn't seem to be) and I only went once and that was quite enough. It took 40 minutes to queue for the loos which as you can imagine was a bit of a nightmare. Also I wasn't drinking that night which is a good job really as it was £4.50 for a glass of wine so no wonder they didn't want you bringing your own food and drink into the venue.

On the Friday after the gig my friend (who had gone with her other friends the day before me) rang me to ask if I fancied going to see Take That again tomorrow (Saturday) for £11. I asked her if she was off her head and where she was getting the tickets from but if she could definitely get them then count me in.

She had heard from another friend that some extra tickets had been released just for that weekend on Ticketmaster and Seatwave that would be 'restricted view' which is why they were £11 and I had paid nearly £60 each for my original tickets. She did manage to get the tickets and we were really excited to be going again. This time I decided to drive as there were only 4 of us and was a bit optimistic about parking as I had been pre warned not to use the Stadium car park as the roads were closed after the gig for a period of time and it would be a nightmare getting out.

After a couple of wrong turnings we were on the right road and parked about 200 yards from the stadium thinking it would be easier to get out (how wrong we were about that too). It took us over an hour just to get away from the stadium towards the motorway due to the huge volume of traffic and on a normal journey, it would take me about an hour or so to get home from Manchester, this took well over 2 1/2 hours.

We had been advised that the restricted view tickets we had booked were actually reserved seats, so felt that we didn't need to join the huge queues to get near the front. We collected our tickets and the seats were at the side of the stage, but nearer to the back of the stage, we weren't bothered about not being able to see the main stage as we had been the previous week, but we had a good view of the runway and second stage. The show was every bit as good as the first time we went and the added bonus of being able to see them go onto the stage from the back stage area, plus there were big screens for the bits on the main stage that we couldn't see. On the plus side, there were no queues for the toilets but not so good for my friends who had to pay £17 for a bottle of wine.

The Progress Tour was the best ever and I wish I was going again and again and this time I really don't know how they could make another any better, but only time will tell and I really hope that the 5 of them are back for good.

Fuerteventura 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 15 May 2011 11:00:00 +0000

When we decided to book a package holiday for our summer holiday this year, I was optimistic. I had not been on a a package holiday in years, but wanted a proper family holiday that would suit my two year old and my sister who has special needs a can't walk very far. After lots of research and advice we decided on Fuerteventura which is the second largest Canary Island after Tenerife. Mainly because I had been to Majorca in May before and the weather can be a bit hit and miss. The flight was very good on the way out, we decided not to book any in flight meals, but there was a snack trolley you can buy from and apparently you can hire a PSP from the airline to play games if you are bored. They were charging £7 for this.

Costa Calma

In the past, I have always booked my holidays myself booking the accommodation and flights separately but wanted this to be as easy as possible so decided to book through Thomas Cook after looking through stacks of brochures. We decided on the 4* Costa Calma Beach Resort on an all inclusive basis. Having checked Trip Advisor
before we booked, it had very mixed views and it seemed the best of a bad bunch but looked as though it had everything we wanted and needed for our family. The coach journey from the airport took one hour to the resort of Costa Calma where we were staying. We arrived at the Hotel at around 9.30pm and the Hotel had arranged food for us as the restaurant had closed. The Hotel looked very clean and the reception staff were very friendly on arrival and we were checked in very quickly. We had requested adjacent rooms which we were given and the rooms were spacious and clean. My only gripe, and it is not with just this Hotel, it seems to be the same wherever you go on package Holiday Hotels is that it is always twin beds. Do Double beds not exist anymore? I have stayed in Chain Hotels where there are twin beds but they are clipped together underneath to make a double, but can be separated if required. Anyway moan over, I had requested an extra pillows for us and within 10 minutes I had them.

One of the pools

We didn't go to the welcome meeting as we lost track of time plus it is hard trying to get a 2 year old to sit still for 5 minutes never mind 1 hour. Our rooms had a side sea view and was nice and bright with a decent size balcony and more importantly clean and had air conditioning (more about that later). The dining room was huge with plenty of chairs and tables and loads of choice of food. There were breakfast cereals, yoghurt's, fruit and meat and if you fancied a cooked breakfast that was available or pancakes and cakes and if you were really hungry you could have some of everything. As well as the main restaurant, there is a snack bar in the grounds near the pools which serve Continental Breakfast, Lunch, snacks and Coffee and Cakes in the afternoon. You definitely would not go hungry anyway. On All Inclusive all food and drink are free from 0800-2300. If you wanted drinks after 2300, you had to buy vouchers from the reception but nobody did this, they went to the bar before 2300 and got a few rounds in.

Costa Calma Hotel Beach

There is a kids club within the Hotel, but children must be 4 to go in it, but they got to do treasure hunts, art, games and other activities and at night between 8pm and 9pm there was the 'Mini Disco' where the entertainments crew got the kids dancing to Agadoo, Superman and The music man among other 80's classics. My little boy loved it and we had to make sure we had eaten by 8pm so he could go and do his boogie boogie dancing. There were very few British at this Hotel (which didn't bother us), it seemed to be mostly Italians, Germans and Polish people. There are five swimming pools in total (2 are children's pools) and there is absolutely no reason to get up early and reserve sun beds as there are lots of areas and more than enough for everybody including the 2 beach areas in addition to the pool areas. There is also a roof top area for the sun worshippers where there is just sun beds and no umbrellas or shaded areas.

Costa Calma Beach

The Costa Calma Beach resort is huge, as well as the 5 pool areas, there is a sister Hotel in the grounds which is the Nautilus Beach which I had a nosey and that looked very nice too. As well as plenty going on for the kids, there is plenty of activities for adults too should you be bored. All are free and they include Archery, Table Tennis, Shooting and darts. There was also aqua aerobics in the afternoon and the Hotel has a Padi Diving centre too. There is a leisure centre which has a sauna, massages and a gym. There are computers that you can use at the Hotel, should you want to access the Internet at EUR1 per 10 minutes. You can also pay for wifi if you have a lap top with you which is EUR 5 for 24 hours and you can access this anywhere in the hotel including your room, but please be aware this does not work for Ipod's as we found out.

Another of the pools

There is entertainment six nights a week and as I mentioned before it is mini disco between 8pm and 9pm. Then they have the 'Diploma ceremony' between 9-9.30pm which is certificates awarded to the winners of the days activities. The entertainment includes Flamenco Dancing, Snake Lady, funny sketches, and singers (some bad and some very bad). We spent most of the week by one of the children's pools which my little boy loved. At the beginning of the week he wouldn't go in on his own and by the end wouldn't go in with us, he wanted to do it all himself. The food selection at lunch times was very varied with a choice of pasta, cold meats, chips, fruits and cake. Dinner also had a wide choice of food with different themes every night such as 'Spanish', 'British' and 'German' so they would have soup, then maybe a stew or steak, paella, pasta or fish and again the cold meats favoured by Europeans and ice cream, cakes and fruit. They were quite strict at the evening meal than men could not wear shorts or vests. This depended on who was on the door as the night my hubby was sent away for wearing long short, when we finally sat down to eat, there were quite a few men in there with shorts on.

Roof Terrace suntrap

We didn't take a pram with us as we picked the Hotel for the simple fact that we didn't need to go walking anywhere and it had everything that we needed in the resort and it did. However we thought it would also be a shame to not see any of Costa Calma at all so this is where we had a problem. I asked the Hotel if they had a spare pram knocking about anywhere that we could borrow for a couple of hours, but of course they didn't. I came up with an idea that I would ask our rep Abi thinking that I know what the answer will be but if you don't ask then you don't get. I did ask her and she said she would see what she could do and get back to me. Sure enough the next day (her day off) she rang me to say she had managed to borrow one from the office and would drop it off at the Hotel. Not only did she do this she dropped it off on her day off and was an absolute star. We did have a walk into Costa Calma and it took about 15 minutes to the Shopping Center (well I dispute the phrase Shopping Centre), it had about 5 shops one of which was a Spar and a few shops selling tat. There was a coffee shop and a couple of bars. The resort of Costa Calma is made up of Resort Hotels so most guests are on all inclusive so there isn't really the need for lots of shops and bars but if you were booked on a self catering basis then I think you would have to eat in the Hotels or you would struggle. You don't really need to leave the Hotels as they all have their own beaches, pools and shops within the Hotel.

Pool Bar

As I mentioned before we did not attend the welcome meeting so we had a look at the Thomas Cook folder to see what else the resort offers. There didn't appear to be that many local trips that you could book other than the Oasis Park which we didn't go to but it is kind of a zoo/nature park and has sea lion displays, Camel Rides and petting farm among other attractions. It is approx 5km from Costa Calma resort and is EUR24 for adults and EUR12 for children 3-11.

The Hotel we stayed at is actually and Apart Hotel and offers different rates from self catering, bed and breakfast to All Inclusive, although I think if you booked self catering you would struggle unless you intended to eat in the various Hotels as there is not very many restaurants. The food rates at the Costa Calma Beach Hotel are as follows. Breakfast EUR7.50, Lunch EUR16.00, Dinner EUR16.00 and All Inclusive EUR33.00. All meals are buffet style so you can help yourselves as many times as you like. Drinks are also included on All Inclusive and in the restaurants and snack bars there is coffee machines, Local beer tap and soft drinks tap which has coke/coke diet/sprite/fanta orange/fanta lemon so you can help yourself whenever. There is also a water tap which people used to take empty bottles and fill up. The bar has cocktails, local liquors and other drinks. The Hotel rooms have mini bars which are empty, however the fridge was still cold even though it didn't have any contents in so we used to keep our water in there to keep it nice and cool.

There are three shops in the Costa Calma Beach Hotel/Resort for your convenience. There is a jewellery shop selling mainly silver and gold, a convenience shop selling cigarettes, suncream, pool toys, sweets and newspapers as well as souvenir Tat. There is also a surf shop selling O'Neill branded clothing such as swimwear, jumpers (because you need a jumper in the Canaries!) and other items of clothing. There are also 2 vending machines selling overpriced bars of chocolate for about 2 Euros.
In the snack bar by the pool there is a freezer where you can go and help yourself to ice cream tubs for when it gets really warm. We found that it could be quite cloudy and even grey in the mornings (although still warm) and it looked like it was going to rain a few times, but apparently this is quite common and even though it is grey, the sun is still out above the clouds so when you think you can't get burnt, you most definitely can. It never did rain and was always warm with a nice breeze.
We were coming to the end of this holiday and if anybody is thinking of going to this Hotel and has a look at trip advisor, please do not be put off by the reviews, it is a lovely Hotel and is very clean and the staff were lovely and went out of their way to help. The only very small quibble that I would have is that after the Mini disco finishes at 9pm there is nothing really for children to do as there is entertainment on and the kids got bored . There is a games room with pool tables, football tables but that is all and anybody knows it is hard to keep them entertained. Luckily for us, we had some 'Peppa Pig' episodes on our Ipods for him to sit and watch which worked for a while until he got bored and wanted to run around. Our flight was at 2100 in the evening, so we decided to pay EUR30 to keep our room until our 1730 pick up time which is worth the money.

Broncemar Beach

Now here is where things get interesting and unfortunately for us, the next 24 hours will be remembered for ever. So we got to the airport at checked in and airports are never great with young children anyway, but to be fair to Fuerteventura Airport, they do have a play area with a slide, bus and a few other things for the kids to play on so that helped and I don't know why more airports don't take note. Anyway we are sat on the flight ready to head on the runway (this is 9pm at night) and then the pilot announced that there may be a 'small problem' with one of the wheels and they were taking the plane back to the base as a precaution. Shortly afterward the head stewardess made the dreaded announcement. 'Ladies and Gentleman we are sorry to have to inform you that there is a problem with one of the wheels and the engineers do not have the equipment here to fix it so unfortunately we are going to have to offload everybody and put you all in accommodation and try and get the problem fixed tomorrow as the airport is now closed'.

Dangerous wire next to metal pipe

I was quite excited at first as we were being taken to Caleta de Fuste ten minutes from the airport and we had actually looked at booking into staying here at first but decided on Costa Calma. We were being divided into two hotels being the 4* Barcelo and the 3* Broncemar Beach which I know 2 people who had stayed here so wasn't worried. Being one of the last off the aircraft we were told that we were going to the Broncemar Beach. The Resort is ten minutes drive from the airport so we got there quite quickly but it was nearly 11pm at night and everybody was beginning to get grouchy.

The 'Child Friendly' Terrace

The Airtours Rep was very good and I think he was in the pub when he got the call as his shift had finished hours ago, but he was on hand organising everybody and said that families would be checked in first. we got the keys to our two rooms that we needed and headed to them. (The Broncemar reminded me of Butlins in that the rooms/apartments were in little villages with road names.) We eventually found our rooms and opened the first door and the first sight that greeted me was a dead cockroach in the kitchen/living area which is where the pull down bed that my toddler would be sleeping it. If there is one thing I hate more than anything, it is cockroaches dead or alive. I walked out and decided I would have a quick look to see if my sisters adjacent room was any better.

Nope. Her apartment was in darkness and had no lock or more importantly door handle on it. As I went back to tell my hubby I was going to go to reception to tell them he told me to come and look at the bathroom. I kid you now there wasn't just one but loads of what looked like ants or something small crawling all over the bathroom. It was filthy and disgusting and there was no way any of my family were going to stay there. When I got to reception and told the receptionist, she looked at me as if if was stupid and just said that a maintenance man was coming to fix the door with no handle and that's the best she would do.

The rep was still in reception (I think he was called Paul) and I told him and he told the receptionist they must find me a better room. I was given a 2 bed roomed apartment on the first floor, so made my way back to the family and we found the new apartment. Hubby opened the door and all I heard was 'I don't believe this' the living room was flooded and I don't mean a splash of water I mean proper flooded. Somebody had decided the defrost the fridge which was in the kitchen/living room area and the floor was covered in water. Hubby went to reception this time and we were told to wait for somebody to come and mop up. By this time it was getting nearer to midnight. I had a look round the rest of the apartment and while there was nothing alive and crawling (that I could see) it was grubby. The bath which had the shower in was filthy with hairs in it, the kitchen worktops was grubby and had chunks missing out of it and if you are less than 7 foot (which we all are) then you need to hold the shower head and hold it over you as the shower head holder was near the ceiling. The beds looked cleanish but we decided not to take any chances and slept on top of them and was scratching all night (although I do think it was my imagination after what we had seen). I personally think that the rooms that we were put in are not used until peak season, so have probably been cleaned ages ago and were not going to be done again until it gets busy, so we didn't fancy taking our chances with their towels either. One other very important factor you need to know if you are going to stay at the Broncemar is that they don't have air conditioning and charge EUR15 per week to borrow a fan. Now what kind of accommodation in the Canary Islands that is hot all year round doesn't have air conditioning? We woke up about 7ish and just wanted to get out of the room as fast as possible. One thing I noted in the kitchen (see above picture) is that there was a bare wire next to the metal water pipe, so you just have to hope your not in the shower if they decide to touch. Also I wanted to have a look at the terrace (we were on the 1st floor), and the rail was as wobbly as anything and on the terrace was a very small wall which my 2 year old would have climbed on no problem with an even smaller side which when you fall off it (because boys like climbing) you would fall two stories. Not exactly child friendly. I really wish had filmed or taken pictures of our first room, but we just wanted to get out of there ASAP. My hubby took a video of the room that we stayed in which is below.

After breakfast and getting out of the hell hole, we did have a wander round Caleta de Fuste before or pick up at 1200. There was certainly a lot more going on than Costa Calma, there were plenty of shops, restaurants and bars and it was full on English people. It seemed like a nice resort but we chose Costa Calma as we didn't want to be going very far and wanted everything handy which it was.

I don't blame Thomas Cook for anything and to be fair all the reps, cabin crew and everybody we came into contact with were fantastic and helpful and it wasn't their fault. When you have to get 150 people into accommodation in very short notice, you have to use every available resource. Thomas Cook own Airtours (who use the Broncemar Beach) but it is not in the Thomas Cook brochure. I find it very hard to believe that there would be any good feedback for this hotel. (3* Plus - more like 2*)

We did eventually get home 20 hours late, and had a great holiday apart from the last 24 hours. If I had checked into the Broncemar Hotel at the beginning of my stay, I would have been on the next flight home.

The video of the room we stayed in

Blackpool Stanley Park, Motorcycle Show and Classic Car Show

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:03:00 +0000

Stanley Park is a beautiful place to visit and a great day out for all the family. It is set in 256 acres and has lots for everybody to do. There is the boating Lake with Pedal and rowing boats available for hire, large childrens play area, crazy golf, putting and tennis courts. There is also the band stand and the Italian and Rose Gardens and Fountains. There is lots of wide open spaces and picnic areas should you just want to relax and watch the world go by.
It is also next to Blackpool Model Village and across the road from the zoo, should you want to combine your visit with any of the above.

There is always something going on at the park should it be a fun day, music in the band stand or heritage day. Last year Stanley Park was the starting point for the Cycle Tour of Britain and this year the race for stage 1 will end on Blackpool Promenade on Saturday 11th September at approximately 1340. The park has also hosted The Blackpool Motorcycle Show and The Classic Car show in the Italian Gardens.
It is free entrance into the park and it was free to spectate the above, but there are charges for crazy golf, putting, hiring of boats and tennis courts. There is also The Art Deco Cafe where you can sit inside or outside and skate park for boys and their toys.

The Blackpool Motorcycle show took place on Sunday 11th July this year in the Italian Gardens in the very lovely Stanley Park. It was a beautiful sunny day and the bikes were great. Entrance was free for spectators and there was a really good turn out. Stanley Park is hosting more and more events and has a lovely setting.

Blackpool Classic Car show

This was held on Sunday 29th August from 10.00am until 4pm and was free for spectators. We were very lucky with the weather as it was a beautiful sunny day (windy) but at least sunny and dry. There was a very good turn out with lots of very lovely cars.

To view more images from the Classic Car Show visit my Flickr page.

Blackpool Pride

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:07:00 +0000

For the last five years, Blackpool has been hosting a 'Blackpool Pride Parade and event' and every year it has got bigger and bigger. Although I have never attended the actual event, I do like to go and watch the parade. It is normally on for a couple of days and there are market stall's, entertainment such as Xfactor's Lucie Jones, Tight Fit, The Cheeky Girls and Blackpool's own Betty Legs Diamond (all appeared this year 2010) as well as many others. The parade is always very colourful and flamboyant and great to watch and should not be missed if you are in Blackpool. I always try and take plenty of pictures and have photos from 2009 and 2010 on my Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/geminiali.

Below are some pictures from the Parade from 2009 and 2010.

Blackpool Pride Parade 2009

Pride Parade 2010

There is a website that is one of the partner associated with the Pride Parade and that is BAGS (Blackpool Accommodation for Gays) for any help with accommodation.

Blackpool Illuminations

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:32:00 +0000

There is probably not a person in the world (well maybe some people) who have not heard of or seen Blackpool Illuminations. They usually shine from the first weekend in September until the around the 7th November and the switch on is always a big event. Everybody from Red Rum to Dr Who and Top Gear have flicked the famous switch over the years and this year it is the turn of Robbie Williams who will turn them on Friday 3rd September 2010. This year's switch on is causing controversy as it has always been a free for all event, but this year while still free is a ticketed event. So people wanting to go and watch had to apply then there would be a lottery for wristbands, of which the people of Blackpool were going to be given a few thousand tickets and the rest given to others. However it emerged last week that some of these tickets had ended up on ebay, which obviously angered people from Blackpool, so they are supposed to be in the process of being removed from ebay. Back in the day when I was growing up, the switch on was always at Talbot Square opposite North Pier and as it got to be a bigger event, it moved to Central Car Park. This year it will be held on St Chad's Headland as as well as Robbie Williams, it has emerged that Russell Watson, The Wanted, Olly Murs, and Gabriella Climi will be appearing, Alesha Dixon and The Plain White T's are also rumoured to be appearing.

There are many ways to view the illumination's and if you have the energy, there is no better way than walking them (although it is a very long walk!!!)
If you want an easier way then you can either drive through them and depending on what day and time you choose to go, it can take a good couple of hours or if you don't want the stress of driving there are open top bus tours which operate Monday to Friday from Marton Mere Holiday Park.
If you fancy something a bit different why not book tour on an illuminated tram which departs from North Pier Tram stop and costs £5 for adults and £3.50 for children over 5 (under 5's are free).
Blackpool Landau's also operate tours prices on request to each landau and as far as I am aware they are not allowed to operate on Saturdays (according to Blackpool evening gazette) due to the amount of traffic.

For more of my Blackpool and Illuminations photos go to my Flickr website.

On Tuesday 31st August 2010, there is a 'Ride the lights' event along Blackpool promenade, which is a preview of the lights by push bike only. It is from 7pm until 10pm and you can ride and see as much or as little as you choose with no other traffic other than bikes oh and its free too.

Blackpool Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:25:00 +0000

A visit to Blackpool is not complete without a visit to the zoo. There has been a lot of redevelopment lately and it is now a great place to visit and is definitely worth a day out. I have actually bought an annual pass for £29 which is basically the cost of two visits and I can go as many times as I like. You do have to pay for parking on top of the admission cost which is a little unfair but apparently the money is reinvested in animal projects. The zoo is a little out of the way of Blackpool Town centre, near the De Vere Hotel but there are buses that will take you there. It is £14.50 for adults and £10.25 for children (over 3), under 3's go free and there are concessions for students, pensioners and people with disabilities and family passes. There are also online booking discounts. Inside the zoo there is 'The Children's zoo' which has its own area with donkeys, rabbits, pigs and many more. There is a large outdoor play area and picnic areas as well. The food from the cafeteria is very expensive so I would recommend taking your own if going for the day. If the weather gets really bad and you are on a day trip to the zoo, you can always take your little monkeys into the Playbarn which is next to the zoo. It is a large indoor play area for babies, toddlers and older children, I think it is about £3.00 entrance fee (free for under 1's). It is a good way of tiring the children out if you think they are not tired enough after your day at the zoo!!!!

Check out more of my photographs from the zoo on my Flickr.

World Horse Welfare Penny Farm Nr Blackpool

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:27:00 +0000

Well worth a visit and free entrance is World Horse Welfare Penny Farm which is open on Wednesdays and weekends. Like I said it is free entrance and there is ample parking, it is on the outskirts of Blackpool so you would really need a car to get there or Stagecoach Bus X61. There are usually about sixty horse at any one time mostly rescued from people who keep them as pets or can no longer look after them. There is also a coffee shop and gift shop and every September they have an open day with displays by the Kings Troop and Household Cavalry. There is also an adoption scheme for the horses. This is a great under stated family day out which is not a publicised as it should be. The stables are indoors so you don't have to depend on the weather to enjoy it.
The volunteers and staff at Penny Farm are very helpful and knowledgeable about all the horses and will make your day a fun day out. There are activies throughout the year at Penny Farm so it is worth checking out the'Whats on Page' of their website for more details.

Blackpool - My Home Town

noreply@blogger.com (Ali) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:13:00 +0000

Well I decided to do this blog over a year ago but things happened and it never materialised so I am going to start now by saying 'We are premier League' because we were not when I decided to do this and want to say Good Luck for this season to Ian Holloway and all at Blackpool FC.
What can I say about Blackpool???

Well I have lived here since I was a baby when my mum and dad moved here from Glasgow and have grew up thinking that Blackpool was a dump, although it has its moments it is having more and more events and attractions on and is trying to establish itself as the number one UK tourist spot once more. Being more famous in recent years for the 'hen and stag parties' although there are still plenty that come to party, Blackpool is doing its best to bring the families back to the resort.

I am a keen but amateur photographer and love getting out and about taking photographs and want to make the most of the town I live in, so now try and go out whenever there are events on in Blackpool and take some photographs and publish them on Flickr so that people can see how great the town is. As well as looking in the Blackpool Evening Gazette, I always check Visit Blackpool for all the latest news.
This year on Friday 3rd September the lights will be switched on by Robbie Williams which is a great pull for the town although for the first time it will be a ticketed event and I do wonder if there will be many local people who will get tickets. This event is a register now and there will be a lottery for tickets. I want to share some of my photographs and details on some of the events that have and are taking place in Blackpool.

Since the promenade started being done up it has become a really nice place to go and relax, there are grassy areas and seated areas and in lovely surroundings as the promenade was beginning to look shabby and really needed updating. I used to go to the pleasure beach quite regularly, although I don't really like the rides, it is a great place to take some fantastic photographs, but since they started to charging an entrance fee (which I begrudge paying seeing as though you still have to pay for all the rides) I haven't been, although I believe they do have special offers regularly on books of tickets and the Hot Ice show is always fantastic.

The sandcastle water park is a great attraction for families and people of all ages and at the prices are £10.35 for adult and £8.55 for children over 3 (there are discounts for seniors and people with disabilities) and also family tickets available. It is a great day out with lots to do but it does not have its own car park so it is either street parking (of which there is little in this area) or in the car parks although there are car parks, they are expensive if you are parking all day so if you are on holiday, it may be cheaper to travel by tram or bus.

Below are some events that have taken place in and around Blackpool.

Blackpool Championship Parade

Every year Blackpool hosts the World Firework Championships and this year is no different, but usually they take place over a few weekends however this year they will take place over three days being 10th - 12th September 2010. They will also be set off from the beach between Central and South Pier this year instead of from North Pier as in previous years.

It is always a great event although in some instances the events have had to cancelled due to our lovely British weather!!!