Visit Lancashire

Midland Delight

The break between Christmas and New Year saw me hankering for a brisk walk and some fresh air so we decided to take a drive up to Morecambe and have lunch at The Midland Hotel. I haven’t been since English Lakes Hotels took over the management of the property and the rest of the family hadn’t been at all.

Brilliant Briardene

I am a bit of a traditionalist and do enjoy a Sunday roast with the family, so was delighted to have lunch at the Curbside Brasserie at the Briardene Hotel in Cleveleys which is quite close to home. Their restaurant is open to non-residents and offers a good choice of fayre under the direction of chef Deano. My wife and I opted for the full roast beef lunch consisting of ample portions of vegetables and divine Lakeland beef, superb roast potatoes (mine never come out that good) and Yorkshire Puddings. The menu choice was locally sourced and showed off the best of what the north west has to offer. Our two youngsters opted for sausage and chips, which again, were produced to an excellent standard and kept them quiet.

Love, From Blackpool

Valerie and Frank spend a romantic night in Blackpool....

Polish Delight in Blackpool

The Federation International of Volleyball brought the under 21 junior world beach championships to Blackpool this weekend. It being a gloriously sunny day I thought a nice tram ride along the promenade and a quick sit through a game or two would be a pleasant way for the family to spend the afternoon. None of us knew anything about volleyball – beach or otherwise so we weren’t sure what to expect or how complicated the rules might be – I need not have worried.

Blackpool at its very best!

As we awaited a tram to take us into Blackpool we could see it was busy! Three trams passed, full to capacity so eventually settled for a bus to get us to the Promenade. This was going to be a busy day – and it was too. As we approached the main stretch of the Promenade we literally saw a sea of faces. Never in all my years have I seen Blackpool Promenade so busy and the reason, the airshow.

A glorious day, a fantastic vantage point on the new Promenade and a good line up of display aircraft too – looks like everyone else had the same idea. So we settled down on the Promenade Spanish steps between central and south pier to watch two hours of flying displays and what an afternoon it was.

Tea for Two in Morecambe

Afternoon tea is a very civilized affair and what better place to ‘take tea’ than in the glorious Art Deco surroundings of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe.  The fact that is was also Valentine’s Day added to occasion and so we took our seats in one of the cosy booths of the Rotunda cafe.

England's Golf Coast - The home of the Open

As part of the England's Golf Coast campaign I spent the day with colleagues from Liverpool, Southport and Fylde at the Open Golf championship in Royal Birkdale yesterday. The cold and unrelenting rain did not deter the fans (nor the majority of the golfers) from supporting the event and the England's Golf Coast stand became a welcoming beacon for many to shelter from the weather.

Fish & Cheese

Saturday evening saw me driving up the Fylde coast to pay a long overdue visit to Seniors Fish & Chip restaurant in Thornton. After an obilgatory glance at the upturned hull of Riverdance on the beach at Cleveleys we headed inland to the award-winning restaurant and self styled "Fish Experience".

Cruising on the Lancaster Canal

Friday morning saw the start of the new season for the Packet Boat water bus on the Lancaster Canal. It was a wet and cold morning on the water but the welcome on board the canal boat was extremely warm! With an endless supply of food and hot tea we sat back and enjoyed the view.

Stand and Deliver!

  I rushed away from work on Friday to get up to Holgates Caravan Park with some friends for the weekend. A great haven courtesy of my parents who have a caravan (more like cool crash pad) there. First thing on the menu was food and wine so a quick stop at Booths in Carnforth saw me stocking up on Morecambe Bay Shrimps and crusty bread (starters), Bowland beef with all the trimmings (main) and a selection of great Lancashire cheeses for if we made it through the rest (which we did).