Blackpool's best weekend "in 25 years"

A record breaking Bank Holiday Monday had Fylde coast businesses smiling for more reasons than one.
Bank holiday crowds on Blackpool beach (Picture: Kate Yates/@KateMYates on Twitter)Bank holiday crowds on Blackpool beach (Picture: Kate Yates/@KateMYates on Twitter)
Bank holiday crowds on Blackpool beach (Picture: Kate Yates/@KateMYates on Twitter)

Not only was it the hottest early May bank holiday on record, but it looks to have brought a bumper crop of tourists out to the seaside.

Peter Sedgwick, who owns all three of Blackpool’s piers, said it was the busiest weekend he had seen in 25 years of operating in the resort.

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He said: “I have been on South Pier for 25 years and I have never seen it with so many people on.

Packed  Blackpool beach (Picture: Kate Yates/@KateMYates on Twitter)Packed  Blackpool beach (Picture: Kate Yates/@KateMYates on Twitter)
Packed Blackpool beach (Picture: Kate Yates/@KateMYates on Twitter)

“They came on at 10am and didn’t leave until 9pm.

“All the piers were rammed and the feedback we had from people was fantastic.

“I feel businesses all across Blackpool had a rough time at Easter and so this made up for it.

“It was the first bank holiday where every day we had sunshine.

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“It reminded me of the old days when I came here in 1961 and you couldn’t move for the volume of people on the Promenade.”

St Annes town mayor Coun Karen Henshaw said: “The bank holiday weekend weather was glorious and it was wonderful to see so many people in Fylde.

“St Annes seafront was packed and there were so many visitors all the parking spaces were taken.

“The conditions were perfect for everyone to make the most of the very best that we have to offer.

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“It was a marvellous weekend for the local economy which really whets the appetite for the rest of the season.”

In Fleetwood, the town’s much admired seafront was packed.

Craig McOmish, who runs the popular Fleetwood Beach Kiosk on The Esplanade, said: “To have three sunny days together over the Bank Holiday is almost unheard of.

“It was great to see the seafront buzzing, it was packed.

“On the Sunday a little of that was due to the unveiling of the statue to Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood in the Euston Gardens, but it was lively every day and business was great.”