#CountryKids a day on the Blackpool beach and promenade

One thing we have all missed after moving from Hastings to Kendal 4 years ago is the sea. So it was great to head to the most famous seaside resort in the North West - Blackpool. Its just over an hour away from us which isn't far for a day trip. I obtained parking tips from Twitter (on street near the airport), packed our swimming kit and off we went. It's all so well signposted even without a navigator.

As advised we took a tram as we were almost at the far end of the promenade. It was a reasonable £4.50 for the 3 of us to go all the way to Central Pier. This was my children's first tram ride and it was a nice way to arrive. The children's priority was the beach so we set up base on the steps next to the pier:

As it was mid week the beach was pretty quiet even though it was boiling hot! The tide was on the ebb so there was plenty of sand:

Both my children made beelines for the sea. I had to sit tight to keep an eye on our things. I know that both children can swim and there were lifeguards on duty so I could relax:

Very rapidly both children had whizzed back to me to get their t-shirts off, to be coated in sun cream and went in for swims:

I could watch them from my comfy step and take in the sights of this very traditional seaside resort:

Some of the locals even kept me company:

Eventually the children got too cold in the water and I had a chance for a very brief dip - it was chilly in the Irish Sea! To recover we headed onto the pier and we bought some fair ground tokens. My children are very different when it comes to rides. My 10 year old is an adrenalin junkie and went for the scariest rides:

Of course this was nothing compared to the Pepsi Max Big One we could see in the distance:

Little brother is getting braver but at 7 the helter skelter was about his limit:

I only went on one ride the big wheel (I am scared of heights but wanted to see the view!):

My daughter made the mistake of pointing out how rusty the safety bolts were as we stationary at the top:

Back on the ground my son went on the mini Extreme for younger children which was a first for him:

Whilst he was enjoying himself I turned around and realised quite how high I had been up on the big wheel:

Then it was time to head to see Cirque du Hilarious which is deserving of a blog post of its own!

When we came out at tea time the tide was fully out and we had to head back on the beach but on the other side of the pier:

The children had invested some pocket money in the cheap buckets and spades for sale on the pier:

They were very content to try and build water features and castles for a long time:

Then we all walked to where the sea was so they could have a final swim:

At this point my daughter had let herself get too cold in the water and I had to swim out to get her back to shore and warm her up. Once we were all dry we headed back along the prom in search of somewhere inexpensive to eat tea. My daughter spotted that the Manchester had a family room with special food offers and I fed us all for just over £10. 

It was a long walk back to the car along the prom but it was lovely to in a breeze and the light was amazing as the sun went down:

The children were fascinated by the roller coaster as we got nearer and both have said they want to go on it! Wonder if we will all be brave enough if we actually went to the Pleasure Beach:

It may have been a long walk that took nearly an hour but there were lots of fascinating works of art to distract both adults and children. This one is in celebration of the movie "They shoot horses don't they":

We will be back for another visit!