Jeremy and Cara decided to visit Blackpool after it was voted the worst seaside town in the UK last year – but it’s safe to say they were left surprised by what they found
An American couple decided to visit the UK’s “worst” seaside destination – and were stunned by what they found.
Jeremy and Cara, the globetrotting pair behind The Magic Geekdom Youtube channel, scoped out Blackpool after it was branded one of the worst spots in the UK by a brutal poll. But they uncovered not despair but delight in the form of three unexpected gems.
Beach
Topping their surprises was the beach – which welcomes an annual crowd of some 17 million tourists. Cara couldn’t hide her joy, saying: “The first time that we came to the UK we had a lot of people tell us ‘oh you need to find a sandy beach a lot are pebbles’ and that was a term I wasn’t really familiar with because I’ve only been to maybe one pebble beach in my life.
“You find a nice sandy beach, that’s a really good quality to have in an English shore, you know? And so the fact that this one is so pristine and beautiful, like what a lovely sandy beach. Why does Blackpool get the hate that it does? I think it is kind of fun here.”
Despite the lack of summer season during their visit, Jeremy noticed the weather playing a better tune than expected: “The weather here is actually not bad,” he said. “It is not raining which is a plus. It is not super cold but there is a lot of wind.”
Illuminations
During their inaugural evening in town, Jeremy and Cara didn’t miss the chance to witness the local famed luminescent spectacle—an event that lights up the area for four months a year, drawing an impressive six million guests.
In awe of the attraction, Cara exclaimed: “You know what’s amazing, I guess Blackpool illuminations actually goes for something like almost six miles that you can walk the promenade and see all these lights. There’s over a million lights now and it has been running since I think 1879. How can you hate on something that’s steeped in that much history?”
Food
The adventurous duo, following recommendations from their Instagram followers, headed straight to The Yorkshire Fisheries, eager for an authentic taste of the local fish and chips while opting to eat indoors to spare themselves from seagull squabbles. Cara savoured her plate of haddock, chips and a helping of gravy.
Jeremy, on the flip side, added a twist with curry sauce as his condiment of choice. Reviewing their meal, Cara enthused: “That is so good. The haddock is so flakey and tender and the batter on it is so crispy and crunchy – this is one of the best fish and chips I think we’ve had, at least the fish, the fish is amazing.”
Conclusions
Last year wasn’t all glowing reviews for the Lancashire seaside resort. Express.co.uk saw its readers rank it as their least favoured holiday spot, with some deeming it “depressing”. But there’s always another side to the story. VisitBlackpool has highlighted an ambitious £1 billion regeneration scheme that is underway.
Cara, who also visited the famous piers and the arcades, certainly did not find it “depressing”. She said: “I really like it here. It is a very different atmosphere than anywhere else we have been to in England.”
Asking her husband if the area was harshly judged, he said: “I think it is a mixed bag. There are a lot of really cool things here that do give us childhood memories that I think a lot of the people here do. There are some sad things that are run down but there is a lot of scaffolding and things that look like they are trying to improve the area too.”
She added: “I agree, there are some gorgeous, magnificent, opulent buildings here. And you can tell a lot of them have been really well preserved or restored, but then there are also ones that you could just tell would be so amazing if they could restore them.
“And so it gives me hope for the future of Blackpool. I think it is a really fun and different experience from anything we have ever done before – I would definitely love to come back.”
To watch their visit to Blackpool, visit the couple’s YouTube channel here.
