At the start of October to coincide with me birthday Shane and I decided to take the kids to Blackpool for the weekend. I have really fond memories of visiting Blackpool as a child with my mum and dad. We were even there when King Kong was on the Tower. As we haven’t been for many years we thought it might be nice to go. The last time we visited Blackpool Kieran was only about 3 years old. Luckily he was in a pushchair as the wind was so strong it was killing our ears. We put the rain cover over Kieran and he was at least a bit sheltered from the wind.
Accommodation
Obviously many years have passed and there are now 4 more kids to take. I always struggle when looking for accommodation for us to stay in. On this occasion I managed to find us an 8 berth caravan with Haven at a sight just outside Blackpool called Marton Mere. I quickly booked it for us to go Friday to Monday.
Arrival
We arrived late at night on the Friday as we didn’t leave until the boys had all finished school. It was an awful night, traffic was bad and it was raining heavily so we took it steady driving there. We got in the caravan unpacked a bit and got ourselves into bed. It was a lovely site and a lovely big caravan.
Up and off out
The following morning once we were all up and ready we took a walk out to find our way into Blackpool. At the entrance to the caravan site was a bus shelter. In side it had a taxi company number printed on it advertising 8 seat taxis, perfect for all of us. Luckily Shane is forward thinking and he took a photo of the number just in case we needed it.
We carried on walking and made it to the main road. We did think that along the way we might find a bus stop and be able to hop on a bus into Blackpool. How wrong could we be, every bus stop we passed said not in service. Super!
A Very long walk
We carried on walking and eventually we came to a small shopping complex with Aldi and a Greggs. This seemed to be a good opportunity to stop of and feed us all and have a bit of a sit down and rest.
After eating lunch we carried on into Blackpool and after a 3 hour walk we were finally in Blackpool. Surprisingly all the kids walked all the way with no fuss or moaning, we were all happy to be finally be there.
Blackpool
Blackpool was busy as we expected it would be with the illumination being on. All the boys loved being in a new place they had never visited and were keen to be exploring. We had a walk along the sea front and the kids had a run along the beach. Next we had a wander on the pier near the tower and then we decided that we would go up the tower.
Please see my Blackpool Tower blog for our Tower experience.
After we had been up the Tower it was getting dusk and we were all starting to get hungry. We decided that fish and chips were a must as we were at the seaside. It was also turning really cold so we decided that instead of eating fish and chips out side we would eat in Harry Ramsdens and get warmed up.
Harry Ramsdens
Everyone must have had the same idea as the que was out the door literally! We stood in the que for about 30 mins with Jay and Max. Whilst Kieran took Alex and Ben with him taking photos to pass the time. When we got in we didn’t have to wait too long until we got our food. It was lovely hot food as always and it certainly warmed us all up.
Illuminations Time
By the time we left Harry Ramsdens it was dark and all the illuminations were on. They were Fab and the kids loved them (especially Ben). They loved the lit up trams and all the overhead lights too, even the horses had lights in their manes.
We had a walk up and down the sea front and then we decided that we would catch the tram. The kids loved the tram and getting a good luck at the illuminations as we passed them. We got off the tram at the pier and spent some time in the arcades.
Getting Late
Time was really getting on now but the kids just wanted to keep walking and looking at the lights. They just did not want to go home but it was almost 11.30pm by now. So we decided to try out the taxi company C Cabs that were advertising at the caravan site. None of us of fancied the 3 hour walk back to the caravan sight. I rang them up and asked for a taxi to our caravan site and that there were 7 of us. This was no problem at all I told them where in Blackpool we were and the taxi was with us about 20 mins later. It was a fantastic service the taxi was £11 and the best bit of all was the fact it dropped us right at the caravan door. We thought we would just be dropped off at the campsite entrance especially as it was now midnight. Nothing was too much trouble, the taxi drivers were very chatty and friendly it was an excellent service.
Out again
On Sunday morning we packed up a few bits and ventured out again. We decided not to make the 3 hour walk into Blackpool but to ring the taxi company up again. Within 10 mins the taxi was at the caravan door and as we had used them the night before they had logged our details so they knew straight away where we were. Another Fantastic driver and fantastic service, well worth the £11.
Upon arriving in Blackpool we decided to visit Madame Tussauds,
Please see my other blog about our visit to madame Tussauds.
After we came out we had a wander along the sea front and onto the pier so the boys could play on the arcades for a bit. By this point it was teatime again so we decided that we would try Nandos. We have been wanting to try Nandos for a while but never got round to it. It was a lovely restaurant and we were seated near the window, which was great as the kids could look out and people watch. The meal was nice but with fussy kids the food didn’t go down well with them, but they managed to give it a try. They are not big lovers of spicy food. By the time we left there it was dark, cold and getting windy. The kids did not want to go back to the caravan so we had a wander about and went to more arcades. We stopped off at Mcdonalds to get some food as the kids were still a bit hungry from not eating much at Nados and then we gave C Cabs a call to take us back to the caravan.
Home for us
Although we were booked in our caravan until Monday we got back to the caravan got the boys in their pyjamas and loaded up the car and headed home. We made the decision to travel home Sunday evening as all the boys had to be at school Monday. We had a good journey home as there was hardly any traffic and Alex, Ben, Jay and Max slept most of the way home. Kieran spent the journey home editing his video that he had recorded.
We arrived home at 1.30am plonked the kids straight in bed and got ourselves to bed too. All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I think everyone had a fantastic time and we have made a ton of memories. All the boys enjoyed it so much they have all asked if we can return again when the illuminations are on. I’m sure Shane and i can make this possible for them.
If you enjoyed my blog about our weekend at Blackpool please take a look at Kieran’s YouTube video he made of our weekend.
Other Blogs you might like to read are: Haven at Caister on Sea and Our first experience of Dunkin Donuts.
