Two weeks before our weekend break in Blackpool we were thinking about our forthcoming luxury trip on The Orient Express. How times change!

Blackpool was chosen as Heather had it on her 'bucket list' of things to do. This also included doing all of those seaside favourites such as having some candy floss, eating doughnuts, having a proper chip shop supper as well as enjoying the other delights on offer in Blackpool specifically a ride on the trams, a walk on each pier, a trip to the top of The Tower, see the illiminations and pay a visit to The Pleasure Beach. It was looking like a busy two days in the northwest's most popular seaside resort lay ahead of us.

The good

Our B&B accommodation, Moorbank House, was a very good choice in a town that has more rooms to let than the whole of Portugal. Located about 300 metres from Blackpool South railway station it was easy to get to for starters and it was also close to the South Pier and the Pleasure Beach plus a top rated sit down chip shop. This made striking a few things off the list fairly easy. Moorbank House was also a good choice as for £141 for three nights we got a clean, fresh (but compact) room and a stonking breakfast that set us up for the day ahead. Another good find, based on a recommendation, was the Beach House Bistro located close to The North Pier. It was a place so un-Blackpool like that it seemed like an oasis of sophistication amongst the brashness of the sea front. If you want a nice meal, well served, in classy surroundings then this place is well worth paying a visit. The trip to the top of the Blackpool Tower was good too, we managed to save nearly £4.00 each by booking the tickets via the Tourist Information Centre almost opposite the Tower's own ticket office and also got to see inside the stunning Tower Ballroom which they normally charge ten quid for.

We walked miles on the Saturday with friends and seemed to go backwards and forwards along the promenade a few times before ending up in Bispham, the northern end of the illuminations, which stretch for around five miles to the south. We also made money on the slot machines without even putting a hand in our pocket as we ransacked the coin trays of the 2p and 10p shoves for unclaimed prizes and came away over two pounds richer.

After riding the Big Dipper on the Pleasure Beach we rounded off our final evening at the White Tower restaurant located close to the theme park's entrance. Dining here was maybe a little bit too posh for Blackpool, but a far better choice than the local Wetherspoons. Pleasantly served Lancashire fare, overlooking the illuminations leading all the way up to the Central Pier, without a deep fat fryer in sight, was a great if not a little indulgent way to round off this two weeks away. It was probably as close to the Orient Express as you will get in Blackpool.

The bad and the ugly

There is obviously a market for less than attractive looking B&B/hotel accommodation as the amount of 'No Vacancies' signs suggest that people will stop just about anywhere. The seafront at Blackpool is littered with these places along with tatty looking bars, chip shops and rock shops. I guess this is the traditional British seaside experience - something that we should not lose completely - but it could look a whole lot better.

They say Blackpool is changing and there are signs that investment is being made both along the seafront and in the shopping streets one or two streets further back. It will take time and hopefully over the coming years will pay dividends.

So we now have just a few days at home before we head to the Far East starting with a flight from Birmingham via Dubai to Bangkok. It is going to be a busy few days before the next part of our adventure continues . . . . . . .