The Blackpool Tower

I came across this place while walking near my hotel in Blackpool. I wondered what on earth a "giant gut-buster barm" could be. I've heard the word "barmy" to describe a crazy person, but I've never heard of a barm as a noun. Turns out it's this, a big bread roll often served as a sort of sandwich. Apparently bacon, black pudding, chips and even a whole pasty can be used as a barm filling -- that's according to Wikipedia.

Well, yesterday was my last day in Blackpool and I had to make it count. The wind died down, so as soon as I'd had breakfast (an egg sandwich, so not quite a barm, but close) I made my way over to the Blackpool Tower. And it was open!

Look! There are people up there!

I got in line and bought my £18 ticket, skipping all the other related attractions like the circus and the dungeon. I suppose if I had kids I might do those too, but I only wanted the tower (and besides, my train left at 2 p.m. so I didn't have all day to kill.)

The "tower experience" began with a short 3-D film in the "cinema," which involved soap bubbles, getting sprayed with a mist of water and occasional puffs of wind. I went in thinking I'd tolerate it but it was actually very fun. It helped us imagine the tower's construction back in the 1890s, when a Blackpool mayor named John Bickerstaffe -- maybe or maybe not having seen the Eiffel Tower, depending on who you ask -- pushed to have it built. When it opened in 1894 it was the tallest structure in the British Empire!

Not only did I go up in the tower, but I made a video of the experience. You'll see what it's like going up in the lift, standing on the glass viewing platform (terrifying), and being at the very top, where it's open to the air (except for some netting). There's a spiral staircase to a still higher platform that is unfortunately closed.

The song that accompanies the video is one of my favorites, "In a Funny Way" by the band Mercury Rev. It's very cinematic (and it's permitted on YouTube by the copyright holders).

You'll also get a good view from the tower of the "Comedy Carpet," the tribute to British comedians that I mentioned a few days ago. Here it is from the ground. I suppose because yesterday's weather was better there were lots of people out enjoying it. I gotta say, every time I walked across it I saw something else that made me laugh out loud.

Finally, I had lunch and a final pint in Blackpool before heading to the train. I left slightly earlier than I'd originally planned -- I had an all-day return ticket so my time was flexible -- and I got back to London around 4 p.m. I spent my train time editing photos and putting together that video of the tower, which made me feel darned efficient.

Here's a final snippet of Blackpool, a mural I found on a side street incorporating all the local landmarks -- the piers, the tower, the ferris wheel and roller coaster, even the "Albert and the Lion" pub -- into the shape of a giant dragon. Pretty cool!