Blackpool, UK

Last week, I mentioned that the London Eye was operated by the same group who also manages the Sydney Tower & Blackpool Tower, so I thought I'd finish this little series with my photos from Blackpool 2007.

Blackpool Tower was first opened in 1894.

It's 158m tall and was intended to be a replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Unlike the Eiffel Tower, though, it is not free-standing. Instead, the Blackpool Tower base is enclosed by the Blackpool Tower Circus.

The top of the tower was painted silver in 1977 in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

In 2011 the entire Tower area was renovated.

I wonder what it looks like now?

In the 18th century Blackpool became a fashionable spot for the wealthier classes to "take a cure". 

By the 20th century, however, it was the nearby factory workers of Northern England who came to Blackpool en masse for their "wakes" week.

Walking along the Promenade didn't quite live up to the high expectations promised in this poster!

Blackpool is famous for it's Illuminations.

When we realised we were going to be in the area during Illumination season (66 days from late August until Nov) , we knew we had to make the detour.

They run along a 10km stretch of the Promenade.

The Illuminations first shone in 1879 - just 8 arc lights to try and extend the summer.

As you can see they have grown somewhat since that time!

Things look a little duller the next day...

...until we get to Pleasure Beach, that is!

Pleasure Beach has been offering fun & excitement to holidaying Brits since 1896.

According to TripAdvisor 2014, it was voted the most popular theme park in the UK.

We obviously came at the wrong time!

The Promenade is lined with row upon row of B&B accommodation.

Fern Royd was cheerfully basic.
Every piece of furniture was covered with doilies and/or bric-a-brac.

We had a birdseye view of the Illuminations outside our bedroom window.

One night was sufficient!

This post of part of British Isles Friday.

The London Eye

The London Eye opened in 2000.

Back then it was known as the Millennium Wheel.

In 2005, a change in sponsorship also triggered a change in name.

The London Eye is now operated by The London Eye Company Limited.

The Eye Brand also operates Blackpool Tower and, curiously, Sydney Tower.

I've been fortunate to have two visits to the UK one in 1991 and one in 2007.

Living in Australia it's not easy to find the time and/or the money to make regular visits,

so I've decided to use Joy's British Isles Friday to revisit the UK in my mind.

The views from the London Eye are incredible.

I would love to see the view at sunset - the champagne tour also sounds fun!

The structure looks and feels very secure and strong up close.

Katie has also created a British Tag to see how British we really are.

1. How many cups of tea do you have a day? How many sugars?
Instant fail for me with this one - I haven't drunk black tea in years.
I drink 2-3 cups of jasmine green tea a day - green with no sugar, 1 coffee (skim flat white with no sugar) and 1 cup of chamomile tea (no milk or sugar) before bed.

2. Favourite part of your roast?
Hmmm, is it bad of me to say the crispy skin on the chicken? My homemade stuffing is pretty good too.

3. Favourite Dunking Biscuit?
I love a warm, soggy ginger nut!

4. Favourite quintessential British pastime?
Watching BBC productions esp Jane Austen & Brideshead Revisited.

5. Favourite word?
Gobsmacked!

6. Favourite sweet?
Ice cream Bounty bars

7. What would your pub be called?
The Dragonfly

8. Cockney Rhyming Slang?
Thanks to our British roots in Australia, we are very familiar with rhyming slang.
Personal favourites include frog and toad (road), on my pat malone (alone) & steak and kidney (Sydney)!

9. No 1 British Person?
Captain Arthur Phillip - for being brave enough to sail across to the other side of the world with 11 ships full of convicts & supplies to start a new colony.

10. Favourite shop/restaurant?
I know it's the usual tourist thing to say, but it's hard to go past Harrod's - and Burlington Arcade just for fun.
Next visit I plan to eat at Ottolenghi's and visit Persephone Books.

11. What British song pops into your head?
The Clash - Should I stay or should I go

12. Marmite?
Vegemite is better!

Jane Austen and Bath

In 2007 I had the good fortune to return to Bath.

One day is not long enough to do justice to this beautiful city, but we managed to pack in quite a bit nonetheless! 

Because I had visited before there were some things I did not need to revisit (ie the Roman Baths - which was just as well, 

since the line to get in this time was horrendous!)

This time around I wanted to focus on Jane Austen.

I felt like Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey...

"They arrived in Bath. Catherine was all eager delight; - her eyes were here, there, everywhere, as they approached its fine and striking environs, and afterwards drove through those streets which conducted them to the hotel. She was come to be happy, and she felt happy already".

Although, Jane, sadly, did not feel the same way about Bath in this letter from 1796:

"Here I am once more in this scene of dissipation and vice, and I begin already to find my morals corrupted."

Despite her own feelings about Bath, Jane was able to give two of her characters happy times and love in Bath - 

Anne Eliot & Catherine Morland have much fonder memories of Bath, than Jane.

There's a wonderful scene in the 1995 movie of Persuasion starring Amanda Roots.
When love seems lost and gone forever - Anne takes action & runs after Cpt Wentworth.
There's the confusion of a noisy street parade.
The crowds part...& there he is.
Ahhhh.

And it all happens right here!

Bath Abbey is beautiful - in any season -

- from any angle - no matter the era.

The Royal Crescent features in Persuasion & Northanger Abbey

For any devout Janeite a visit to Bath would not be complete without a stop at the Jane Austen Centre.

However, one of the joys of visiting Bath in modern times are the new hot baths springing (pun intended!) up everywhere.
We spent a couple of glorious, soothing, cleansing hours at Thermae Bath Spa.
The perfect way to end a busy day of tramping through the cold, dusty streets of Bath.

(We didn't take any photos inside the Spa - too busy relaxing and enjoying ourselves! 
But click on the link above to see just how gorgeous it is - heated roof top pool, scented sauna's - amazing!)

As Catherine Morland discovered in Northanger Abbey

"Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?" 

This post is part of British Isles Friday, Saturday Snapshot & Austen in August.