I’m on a quick overnight jaunt to Blackpool to ride the illuminations, thanks to a £25 Travelodge offer. The best way to experience the lights from the saddle is to join the thousands of other cyclists on the opening night, when they shut off the prom road to cars. I did just that in 2016, but was back here now to have it all to myself.
The illuminations traditionally finished in early November, but recently they’ve kept them lit right up to New Year’s Eve. Hmm; December is very much out of season, and apart from the funfair round the Tower, there’s nobody around, and it’s low on atmosphere.
Plus everything is shut in December, even the Winter Gardens, which seems to defeat some sort of point. It meant I was robbed of the chance to complain that I wasn’t going up the Tower or into Ripley’s Believe It Or Not at that price.
Still, I could enjoy my favourite attraction in Blackpool, which is open year-round and free: cycling the miles and miles of wide, smooth, car-free promenade, like I did in 2021.
I’d forgotten my trunks, but it didn’t matter. A wet suit was more like it. And there wasn’t much sand to be seen today anyway. I hope those donkeys are good swimmers.
