JAW-DROPPING TRAVEL TIPS
Fiona Whitty takes her gang around some of Blackpool’s most famous attractions
My back stiffened as the 7ft shark thundered towards me with a menacing stare on its face. Then I eyeballed it straight back with all the confidence of someone who knew they couldn’t possibly be on Jaws’ dinner menu.
If you had asked me to name a place where I’d encounter a shark, Blackpool wouldn’t have been it. But that’s exactly where old toothy grin and I came face to face… and what’s more, I’d taken the kids to meet him too.
We were in the shark tank at Blackpool’s Sea Life centre for a truly amazing experience – the chance to snorkel with a host of ocean predators. (visitsealife. com, book online for £50pp).
Only four people are allowed in at one time so our family of six split up. Husband Tim was to accompany Harvey, 17, and Rosie, 12, while I ventured in first with Max, 15, and Freddie, nine.
Our trained keeper Adam gave us wetsuits and snorkels, then a safety briefing before lowering us down into the tank in a 8ft by 5ft rope-sided cage with a solid Perspex bottom.
Our first visitor was Gary the gargantuan 14st grouper – nicknamed Creeper because he likes to slide under the tank. While Gary ogled us, two shovel-nosed sharks, Lady and Sky – honed to detect heartbeats – sidled up and slid their fins across the cage’s sides, as if to let us know who was boss.
We kept our hands tight in when 79-year-old cuddly looking turtle Lulu drifted over – surprisingly gracefully for a 25st lump of gristle and shell – and head-butted the net. Adam warned us she loves attention but her super-strong beak could easily swipe a finger.
Meanwhile, several black tip sharks and venomous stingrays sauntered past and, as feeding time neared, even one of the two nocturnal nurse sharks – at 7ft the aquarium’s longest – had a nosey. We all loved it to bits. To chill out afterwards we headed to Notarianni’s, Blackpool’s oldest ice cream shop. (notarianni.co.uk)
It’s run today by descendants of the Italian couple – Luigi and Messalina Notarianni – who set it up in 1937 and it still only serves its original vanilla ice cream, made on-site to the same secret recipe. If you’re sceptical about the ethos of not branching out, just try one of their fabulous sundaes.
I went for Notties Mess, a lip-smacking montage of silky-soft ice cream, meringue pieces, whole raspberries and swirls of raspberry sauce. The others
Lulu was graceful for a 25st lump of gristle
opted for a host of additions from fudge and toffee sauce to red berries to chocolate shavings and Oreos.
Blackpool is perfect for families, its famous promenade the Golden Mile packed with things to do. We headed to Madame Tussauds where Freddie enjoyed pretending to be the Hulk and lifted an American taxi cab in the new £1million Marvel Studios exhibition.
Rosie got to hug Darcey Bussell and Olly Murs, while my favourite bit was supping a pint of Boddingtons with Deirdre in the Rovers Return.
Afterwards, we visited Blackpool’s iconic Tower. The 518ft attraction has an incredible glass viewing platform which allows you to look straight down at the promenade below. I warn you, it’s terrifying! (theblackpooltower.com).
Apparently, according to a sign at the Tower, there are 3,000 hotels in Blackpool with nearly 91,000 beds.
We stayed at the grand Imperial Hotel which has welcomed royalty, politicians, acting elite and pop stars since it opened on the seafront in Victorian times.
Our rooms – the Royal Suite, no less – had hosted virtually every post-war prime minister plus The Beatles, who rehearsed A Hard Day’s Night there in 1964.
We had two spacious bedrooms plus two extra single beds in the lounge. Decadent drapes, elaborate wallpaper and super-friendly service (our breakfast waiter remembered what drinks we’d asked for the day before) rule the day, but it was the glorious beach views and the feeling of grandeur which enthralled me most.
A short tram ride away lies the Beach House, a cool seafront bistro in the shadow of the Tower with pinch-yourself views over the Irish Sea (beach houseblackpool.co.uk).
Its menu is diverse – choose from sushi, tapas, chargrills or pizza – and I loved watching the sun set while tucking into spiced and tender chicken shish with a delicious homemade tzatziki, saffron rice and crisp side salad.
Tim’s chargrill mix – with torched lamb kofta, lamb cutlets and chicken shish – was top notch while the kids wolfed down a combination of pizza, burgers, and huge fish and chips.
When I’d last visited Blackpool Pleasure Beach the ghost train had been all the rage. Nowadays it’s the home of hardcore rides and was recently named by TripAdvisor as the UK’s second best amusement park (Peppa Pig World beat it!).
My three madcap sons headed straight for the newly opened ICON, Britain’s first double-launch roller coaster, followed by the Big One (UK’s tallest rollercoaster), Revolution (UK’s first looping coaster) and Infusion (UK’s first suspended looping one completely over water).
Later, we all experienced the feeling of flying a display plane on Red Arrows Skyforce then got an absolute drenching on terrifying water flume Valhalla. One evening we headed back to the Pleasure Beach for their Hot Ice show which features top ice skaters including at least five Olympic athletes. The choreography was breathtaking. (black poolpleasurebeach.com).
One final place I didn’t want to miss was Blackpool Zoo and its new Project Elephant, which aims to improve the welfare of its Asian elephants, support worldwide conservation, develop research and – eventually – start a breeding programme. (blackpoolzoo.org.uk).
Its three elephants have a vast, new outdoor area and indoor home to roam in. The zoo is also awaiting two additions – a mum and calf.
They say an elephant never forgets... and you won’t forget a weekend break in brilliant, buzzing Blackpool.