Blackpool to Fleetwood

Here in Derby we are pretty well in the centre of the country and about 100 miles from the sea, so cycle rides like this are not easy to access.  However, here is one which, admittedly involves  a fairly long train journey, but can easily be done in one day and at reasonable cost if you have a Railcard and can book well ahead on the Internet.

By booking a ticket well in advance, you do get the best price but have to take a chance on the weather, and on this occasion it turned out to be a rather lively day with gale force winds coming across the Irish Sea to hit the Fylde Coast with some force, and although there was no rain I was soaked several times by heavy spray from waves crashing into the concrete breakwaters.  Also a camera malfunction limited the quantity and the quality of photographs at the Fleetwood end.  Sorry about that.  Nevertheless, an exhilarating ride, and one which I will repeat in (hopefully) calmer conditions.
The ride is about 11 miles each way.

It goes South to North so we need to alight at Blackpool South Station, having made two changes of train en route, one at Crewe and one at Preston. Adjacent to the station is an Aldi Supermarket, very handy for stocking up with snacks for the ride, although there is no shortage of eateries in Blackpool. Aldi's sandwiches are very good value and a personal favourite of mine.

             Turn left from the station and ride towards the Promenade.

Here is the Prom just North of the South Pier with Blackpool Tower ahead. This is a telephoto shot, so the Tower looks much closer than it actually is. The following photograph gives a more realistic perspective.

To say that the Promenade is generously proportioned would be an understatement and it looks even more so with few people on it.
A lovely flat hard surface all the way to Fleetwood.

     Everything in Blackpool is larger than life, including these artworks. Not sure if they are normally vertical but yielding to the strong westerly wind.

                              Approaching the Central Pier.

                                          Blackpool Tower

And the North Pier.

Blackpool's trams are world famous and run all the way from The Pleasure Beach to Fleetwood, a distance of 11 miles. The tramway was opened in 1885 and these modern trams were introduced in 2012.
The older Heritage" trams rum at certain times.

The North Pier - high tide - rough sea.

The view Northwards.

In many places there are several parallel hard surfaced paths to choose from, the middle one here preferred,  as the lower one was too wet, and the upper one too windy. Several miles of this easy cycling in better weather.

The sea defences along the Fylde Coast are subject to some serious civil engineering work and so the Promenade is closed in places, but there are roads close by.
Video of the sea front in Cleveleys in processing. See later.

Return by the same route, and if in need of food or liquid refreshment, pay a visit to Wetherspoons (The Velvet Coaster) which is close by the South Pier and not far from Blackpool South Station.

Click HERE for dramatic drone footage of Blackpool Promenade including close ups of the top of the Tower.