Blackpool Trams – don’t just go to Blackpool attractions; get there in Blackpool attractions!

Blackpool’s legendary trams have been patrolling the promenade for well over a century. For many they’re as much a Blackpool attraction as Blackpool Tower or the Sandcastle Water Park. And since our Blackpool family hotel sits right on the promenade you’re only ever moments away by tram from your next adventure. So, wherever you want to travel on the Fylde coast, get there in a piece of history: Blackpool trams.

Blackpool was the first town in the country to install a tramway and, unlike almost every other town and city, we never got rid of it. It’s the last remaining traditional tramway in Britain. Stretching from Starr Gate in the south all the way to Fleetwood in the north there isn’t a promenade attraction that you can’t get to most easily by tram.

Stops are frequent and during daytime in summer you’ll find Blackpool trams passing the Poldhu, and all the coastal Blackpool attractions every ten minutes or so.

With this much to do and explore all you have to decide is: where will you let a Blackpool tram take you today?

Blackpool Trams – the Poldhu factfile

• The Blackpool tramway opened to the public on 29 September 1885.
• Originally the power for the tramway came not from overhead cables (as now) but from the track. That meant that sand and flooding caused regular havoc with the early trams. They needed horse-drawn assistance in bad weather!
• On the first day of operation ten Blackpool trams ran – and none of them had roofs.
• One Blackpool tram was turned into a bread delivery van in WWI. It delivered bread to troops stationed at the Squires Gate barracks.
• During WWII trams were again used to ferry soldiers from the Squires Gate barracks in the south to the Rossall firing range near Fleetwood.
• The trams introduced in 1953 for the Queen’s coronation remain the most luxurious Blackpool trams ever operated. Two of them are still in occasional service.
• There’s been at least one illuminated Blackpool tram in service at Illuminations time ever since 1914.
• Illuminated trams have come in all shapes and sizes, from rockets to railway trains.
• In 1985 Blackpool trams starred in Coronation Street. Evil Alan Bradley was killed by one!
• In 2008 it was announced that £85 million will be spent on upgrading the Blackpool tramway (and work is now underway). Let’s hope it lasts another 125 years.

Blackpool Trams – the Poldhu Hotel insider’s guide:

• The Blackpool TravelCard is the cheapest way of travelling by tram. A one day family ticket is £14.90 allowing you to hop on and off all day.
• You can buy the TravelCard at the Transport Office in Market Street (next to BHS in the town centre) or any newsagent or store where you see this sign:
• Illuminated trams in the shape of a Western train, a trawler and a destroyer patrol the promenade at Blackpool Illuminations time.
• You can ride the lights in style by catching an illuminated Blackpool tram from the North Pier.
• The 26th Anniversary Fleetwood Transport Festival will be held on Sunday 18th July. You can get there by boarding the tram at the Norbreck stop (just north from our Blackpool family hotel) and asking for Fleetwood Ferry.
• Heading back to our Blackpool Promenade hotel after a hard day’s play? Your nearest Blackpool tramway stop is Leyburn Avenue (travelling from the south) and Norbreck (travelling from the north).

For full timetables and ticket prices see the attached link: www.blackpooltransport.com

Blackpool Family Attractions

Poldhu Hotel's Article on Blackpool Trams

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