Blackpool, England 2013

We made a day trip to Blackpool on our second day in Liverpool. It’s about 2 hours away by train. I’ve always read about Blackpool in Beano and Dandy comics when I was a kid. It’s well known for its amusement parks.

Our train stopped by a small town by the name Ormskirk.

It reminded me of the small towns of the game Transport Tycoon. I used to spent hours playing this game when I was a kid. The game is almost 20 years old and to my surprise, there are some enthusiasts who kept the game alive by putting it on the Internet, in particular on the website OpenTTD. I picked up the game again last December when business was slow. Like many of the 90s games, it will soon be relaunched on Android.

My wife and her sister wanted to go to Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park but I hate theme parks (in particular, the wait). Hence, I embarked on a journey – to find good coffee at Blackpool. TripAdvisor recommended barista coffee located at Birley Street. With a name like that, coffee should be good.


“Build me a castle Daddy!”


A disabled friendly beach


Lady in a wheel chair with a toy doll. Eh?

I walked along the Promenade Beach under the hot sun. I had sunburn on my shoulder due to that.

The place is also disable friendly. I saw one man in a wheelchair on the beach. My wife said a man carried his wife into a roller coaster ride.

There were plenty of birds too. I had to be careful of the mid air bombardment by these birds. A hit on the face with bird poo would be a great calamity.

Fortunately, the view was great. It was great seeing Blackpool on foot. It’s a lively place with all sorts of amusement parks. Hotels were everywhere. One can assume that Blackpool lives on tourist dollars.

After an hour under the hot sun, I arrived at barista cafe. It’s a small cafe but with plenty of seats. The barista was pleasant and I ordered my double shot machiato.

Being able to find the place was a great satisfaction. It felt like I’ve gone through a long and hard pilgrimage.

As soon as my lips landed on the cup, I felt a hot sensation on my tongue. The barista burnt the milk. It was too hot to drink! It was disappointing! 

I took a taxi back to Blackpool Pleasure Beach meet my wife and her family. I walked so far that it costs me 6 quid to get back. We ate the obligatory meal of Blackpool namely fish and chips. It was not bad.

Overall, Blackpool was a nice experience but I doubt I will go back there again.