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Shamelessly brash BLACKPOOL is the archetypal British seaside resort, its "Golden Mile" of piers, fortune-tellers, amusement arcades, tram and donkey rides, fish-and-chip shops, candyfloss stalls, fun pubs and bingo halls making no concessions to anything but low-brow fun-seeking of the finest kind. There are seven miles of wide sandy beach backed by an unbroken chain of hotels and guest houses, and though the sea-water quality is still highly debatable, even after heavy investment in a new sewage system, there's nothing wrong with the beach itself - except for the crowds packing the central stretches on hot summer days. Sixteen million people come here each year, and love every minute. The coming of the railway in 1846 made Blackpool what it is today: within thirty years, there were piers, promenades and theatres for the thousands who descended. The Winter Gardens , with its barrel-vaulted ballroom, the Baroque Grand Theatre on Church Street, Blackpool's own "Eiffel Tower" on the seafront and other refined diversions were built to cater to the tastes of the first influx, but it was the Central Pier's "open air dancing for the working classes" that heralded the crucial change of accent. Suddenly Blackpool was favoured destination for the "Wakes Weeks", when whole Lancashire mill towns descended for their annual seven days' holiday. Where other British holiday resorts have suffered from the rivalry of cheap foreign packages, Blackpool has simply gone from strength to strength by shrewdly providing exactly what its visitors want. Underneath the populist veneer there's a sophisticated marketing approach which balances ever more elaborate rides and attractions with well-grounded traditional entertainment. When other resorts begin to close up for the winter, Blackpool's main season is just beginning, as over half a million light bulbs are used to create the Illuminations which decorate the promenade from the beginning of September to early November.
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