Friday 3 June 2011

Blackpool


By Consti.


Blackpool is a seaside town. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries. It has a population of 142,900, making it the third most populous settlement in North West England.


Throughout the Middle Ages and Early Modern period, Blackpool was a coastal hamlet in Lancashire's Hundred of Amounderness, and remained such until the mid-18th century when it became fashionable in England to travel to the coast during Summer to bathe in sea water to improve wellbeing.


Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism in England when a railway was built in the 1840s connecting it to the industrialised regions of northern England. The railway made it much easier and cheaper for visitors to reach Blackpool. In 1881 Blackpool was a booming resort with a population of 14,000 and a promenade complete with piers, fortune-tellers, public houses, tram and donkey rides, fish-and-chip shops, theatres. By 1901 the population of Blackpool was 47,000, by which time its place was cemented as "the archetypal British seaside resort”. By 1951 it had grown to 147,000.


Shifts in tastes and sensibilities, combined with opportunities for Britons to travel overseas, supplanted Blackpool's status as a leading resort during the late-20th century. Nevertheless, Blackpool's urban fabric and economy remains relatively undiversified, and firmly rooted in the tourism sector, and the borough's seafront continues to attract millions of visitors every year.In addition to its sandy beaches, Blackpool's major attractions and landmarks include the Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Illuminations, the Pleasure Beach Blackpool, and the Winter Gardens.

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