Blackpool Pleasure Beach daytrip via train?

[Matt N]

Out of interest, have any of you ever visited Pleasure Beach by train before, getting off at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach train station?

I only ask because I was actually pondering a train trip of my own from my local station in the South West at some point in 2022 (I was thinking a midweek day in either June or September), as I’d like to visit Pleasure Beach again at some point in the not-too-distant future (haven’t been since 2019!), and the train journey from my local station to the BPB station isn’t as horrifying as I’d expected given how far North Blackpool is!

If I left my local station at 07:24am (the earliest train out of there), the journey is as follows:

• Local station to Birmingham New Street
• Birmingham New Street to Preston
• Preston to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, arriving in BPB station at 12:07pm.

Based on Maps’ 13 minute walk time forecast from the station to the park entrance, I could be in by 12:30pm at the latest if I book my wristband online. And looking at the park website, the park closes at either 5pm or 6pm dependant on what day I choose (oddly, the opening hours and pricing seem to vary by weekday… my best bet would probably be a June Monday, where entry is only £37 and the park’s open until 6pm).

Then, I could take a train out of Blackpool Pleasure Beach station at about 7:20pm, and change in Birmingham New Street, Preston and Cheltenham Spa… the only slight issue is that I wouldn’t arrive home in my local station until about 11:30pm, and I’m not sure if that’s a bit late for my parents to drive to the station for.

This is only me spitballing here, and I’m going to do a slightly less complicated trial train trip to Drayton Manor beforehand (I can reach Wilnecote on a direct train from my local station and take a 45 minute walk to the park) to make sure that theme parks & trains are actually a good combination for me, but it is a thought that popped into my head, as I’ll admit I’m quite keen on returning to Blackpool at some stage.

Do you guys think that sounds like a good idea, or do you think I’m insane for even contemplating it?

 

[Dipper_Dave]

Out of interest, have any of you ever visited Pleasure Beach by train before, getting off at the Blackpool Pleasure Beach train station?

I only ask because I was actually pondering a train trip of my own from my local station in the South West at some point in 2022 (I was thinking a midweek day in either June or September), as I’d like to visit Pleasure Beach again at some point in the not-too-distant future (haven’t been since 2019!), and the train journey from my local station to the BPB station isn’t as horrifying as I’d expected given how far North Blackpool is!

If I left my local station at 07:24am (the earliest train out of there), the journey is as follows:

• Local station to Birmingham New Street
• Birmingham New Street to Preston
• Preston to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, arriving in BPB station at 12:07pm.

Based on Maps’ 13 minute walk time forecast from the station to the park entrance, I could be in by 12:30pm at the latest if I book my wristband online. And looking at the park website, the park closes at either 5pm or 6pm dependant on what day I choose (oddly, the opening hours and pricing seem to vary by weekday… my best bet would probably be a June Monday, where entry is only £37 and the park’s open until 6pm).

Then, I could take a train out of Blackpool Pleasure Beach station at about 7:20pm, and change in Birmingham New Street, Preston and Cheltenham Spa… the only slight issue is that I wouldn’t arrive home in my local station until about 11:30pm, and I’m not sure if that’s a bit late for my parents to drive to the station for.

This is only me spitballing here, and I’m going to do a slightly less complicated trial train trip to Drayton Manor beforehand (I can reach Wilnecote on a direct train from my local station and take a 45 minute walk to the park) to make sure that theme parks & trains are actually a good combination for me, but it is a thought that popped into my head, as I’ll admit I’m quite keen on returning to Blackpool at some stage.

Do you guys think that sounds like a good idea, or do you think I’m insane for even contemplating it?

It sounds an insanely long day, yes. Go for it though if you really want to. Or book a cheap hotel for around £40 and stay over. I’m not sure the train service on the Preston to Blackpool South line (where BPB station is) is that regular though. Just to be aware of, if you just miss a train or it doesn’t run, you could be waiting an hour. Or if you go to Blackpool North instead, it’s a tram ride away.

For this amount of travelling, surely a stopover of (at least) one night is worth it?

Edit: Do you plan on getting a car at some point? It would cut out the hassle of having to change trains, hoping they run on time, etc, and you could come and go as you please. That said, you could also be sat on the M6 for hours like I was last time I went to Towers (2 hour journey took nearly 5 hours).

 

[Matt N]

It sounds an insanely long day, yes. Go for it though if you really want to. Or book a cheap hotel for around £40 and stay over. I’m not sure the train service on the Preston to Blackpool South line (where BPB station is) is that regular though. Just to be aware of, if you just miss a train or it doesn’t run, you could be waiting an hour. Or if you go to Blackpool North instead, it’s a tram ride away.

For this amount of travelling, surely a stopover of (at least) one night is worth it?

Turns out, Blackpool North is quite significantly easier to get to than Pleasure Beach station itself… the early train would get me to Blackpool North at around 11:20am, with only one change in Birmingham New Street, so even if I walked the whole 53 minute walk, I’d get there at a broadly similar time. And if I caught the 5:47pm train home and left Pleasure Beach about 4:30pm, I’d get home at a slightly more palatable 9:40pm.

I just talked to my mum about it, however, and she thinks it’s a horrible idea, as I’d only get 4 hours or so in the park itself for 8 hours of travelling… maybe Blackpool isn’t one to try on public transport from the South?

She was also staggered by my definition of “surprisingly easy”…
EDIT: I did just see your other question, and yes, I’m planning to start learning to drive this summer, with a hope of being able to drive by 2023/2024.

 

[Burbs]

I just talked to my mum about it, however, and she thinks it’s a horrible idea, as I’d only get 4 hours or so in the park itself for 8 hours of travelling… maybe Blackpool isn’t one to try on public transport from the South?

She was also staggered by my definition of “surprisingly easy”…

Sorry Matt but I couldn't agree more. Sounds like a hellish day and for just half a day on park? I certainly wouldn't enjoy it and would suggest if you're really adamant about going and taking the train, treat yourself to a night in one of the hotels around the park.

 

[jon81uk]

Turns out, Blackpool North is quite significantly easier to get to than Pleasure Beach station itself… the early train would get me to Blackpool North at around 11:20am, with only one change in Birmingham New Street, so even if I walked the whole 53 minute walk, I’d get there at a broadly similar time. And if I caught the 5:47pm train home and left Pleasure Beach about 4:30pm, I’d get home at a slightly more palatable 9:40pm.

I just talked to my mum about it, however, and she thinks it’s a horrible idea, as I’d only get 4 hours or so in the park itself for 8 hours of travelling… maybe Blackpool isn’t one to try on public transport from the South?

She was also staggered by my definition of “surprisingly easy”…
EDIT: I did just see your other question, and yes, I’m planning to start learning to drive this summer, with a hope of being able to drive by 2023/2024.

Still looking at least a three hour drive so its not significantly better.

But not worth leaving at 4.30pm, if travelling for that long you want to spend longer in the park, either take a later train home or stay overnight I think.

 

[Matt N]

To be honest, I’ve decided to sack the idea off after a bit of careful thought.

It’s partly because of what you guys and my mum both said to me making a lot of sense in hindsight (it’s a lot of travelling for not much park day), and also because I’m still not 100% sure that I’m quite brave enough to travel that far alone on public transport… I think capping it at Drayton Manor is a good idea for now seeing as the furthest I’ve travelled alone on the train is the 30 minutes to Cheltenham. At least with DMP, it’s a direct train (7:24am from the local, 9:04am in Wilnecote, with a 40m walk to DMP itself), I get a full park day and don’t get home obscenely late!

I think I need to accept that I live in a part of the UK where anywhere north of Alton Towers or east of London isn’t really doable in a day regardless of travel method… my mum said that we (me, her and my dad) might possibly be able to squeeze in a short break to Blackpool anyway if I wanted to go.

 

[jon81uk]

I think I need to accept that I live in a part of the UK where anywhere north of Alton Towers or east of London isn’t really doable in a day regardless of travel method… my mum said that we (me, her and my dad) might possibly be able to squeeze in a short break to Blackpool anyway if I wanted to go.

Blackpool is possible as a drive in a day, but probably not alone or as a new driver! Would be better if you went up with some friends maybe.

At your age I was regularly travelling from Malvern up to Birmingham and even all the way to Edinburgh to meet a friend by train. So I would suggest if you want to go somewhere then do it! Don't be scared of travel.

 

[rob666]

Tales of the trains...
BPB station is on the local line, linking to the east Lancashire mill towns, Preston, Blackburn, and Burnley, most trains stop at every small local station, so it is often quicker to go to Blackpool North and walk instead of catching the BPB trains.
Last train back to Colne is often a party train.
We will get the new trams from Blackpool North soon(ish), straight to the Beach.
Blackpool council were bloody idiots in closing the old Central station, right in the centre of town, and not shutting North...fifty years later the "premium" site is still a bloody car park.
Can give you lots of advice on a good, safe and healthy, B&B's near the park.
You could always do the old teenagers trick, stay overnight in Stanley Park bushes with a four pack of Special Brew, then walk to Blackpool North for the first train home.
Kipping under the piers has always been quite popular in the summer for the last train missers, but not as safe due to robberies, assaults and the occasional high tide.
Vague memories of a distant youth.

 

[John_P]

Changing at Preston for the Blackpool Pleasure Beach line is relatively straight forward (if your on a train to Blackpool North it'll likely be the same platform). However the branch line is usually hourly so if doing that make sure you've got the train line app to ensure your connection will actually turn up. In previous years with issues they were getting delayed/cancelled all too often.

Its not a bad walk from Blackpool North though, or the trams are very regular so for the couple of quid they cost it takes away the frantic panic of changing trains and hoping the connection shows up. Plus if your staying a few days you can pop in the Merlin attractions.

I'll always buy a ticket to Blackpool North, when I've changed onto the branch line to Blackpool Pleasure Beach station I've never had an issue doing that.

As others have said its probably best if using the trains to stay over in a B and B though. With the amount of travelling your doing probably best during the week as I barely trust Northern as it is let alone hoping they can offer a service on a Sunday.

 

[shakey]

@Matt N - Henson Hotel for the jolly boys sleepover (probably October time).

Even @rob666 has indicated he will be stopping overnight this year.

 

[rob666]

Paaaarty.
Are we staying under the south pier or Stanley park this year???

 

[Dipper_Dave]

Ha ha! Just came on to say “Before long @rob666 will recommend sleeping under the South Pier” and he’s already done it!

Regarding the walk from North train station to BPB, doing that after a short train journey is one thing, being arsed to walk that after starting out in the South West at the crack of dawn and being on trains all morning is another matter entirely. You’d be exhausted by the time you get to Noah’s Ark. Even waiting for a tram can take longer than you think.

 

[rob666]

He's a young 'un, not an old tub of dripping.
The walk between the North and South piers can be a comprehensive social education in itself, and can be easily done in half an hour, without beer.

 

[Matt N]

To be honest, I’m starting to think that my mum’s suggestion of going to BPB with her and my dad for a short stay like we did in 2019 sounds like a better idea if I want to get to BPB this season; my mum said we could if I wanted to.

That would permit a full day on park, and if I’m really lucky, we might even get a stay in the Big Blue Hotel (my parents really liked it when we went in 2019), although I think asking for BBH would be pushing my luck a bit too much seeing as we’re going to Europa in April…

Heck, we could even go for Late Night Riding like we did in 2019; that was one brilliant day!

For now, I’m going to keep my efforts in lone theme park visiting low-key and stick with a trip to the easiest option of Drayton Manor for 2022; I can reach Wilnecote, DMP’s nearest train station, on a direct train from my local station, it’s only a 40 minute walk to Drayton Manor from Wilnecote, and the timing’s good enough that I would still get a full park day and not get home obscenely late!

 

[Matt N]

Sorry to double post, but even though I sacked off the idea of going to BPB via public transport, instead choosing to go with my parents like my mum suggested, I still decided to scope out the walking route from Blackpool North to Blackpool Pleasure Beach's front entrance in Google Street View for a bit of fun. A few takeaways:

• I never knew Blackpool Promenade was that long! That also proved to me how little of Blackpool Promenade I've actually walked along... I only walked as far up as South Pier for the spinning mouse credit when we stayed in 2019!
• Building upon that, I can certainly see why you were all recommending a hotel stay... I must easily have passed at least 50 different hotels on my clicking spree, and even possibly a few with the same name as each other! I can certainly see how Blackpool has more hotel rooms than the entire country of Portugal! (That's a statistic sourced from a Bill Bryson extract about Blackpool we read in English in 2018...)
• I must also have passed a similar amount of fish'n'chip shops... I can also see how Blackpool allegedly consumes more chips per capita than any other place on Earth! (sourced from the same Bryson extract)
• The route is surprisingly linear; it's basically "walk in a straight line until you see the sea" and "walk in a straight line until you hit Pleasure Beach's entrance" for the most part! It is a pretty long walk, though... or it at least felt it from my clicking perspective.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

If the promenade is too long a walk for you, you could take a tram from North Pier to Pleasure Beach.
It's a 7 minute walk from Blackpool North to North Pier tram stop then an 11 minute tram ride to Pleasure Beach tram stop which is right outside the main entrance.

 

[Matt N]

If the promenade is too long a walk for you, you could take a tram from North Pier to Pleasure Beach.
It's a 7 minute walk from Blackpool North to North Pier tram stop then an 11 minute tram ride to Pleasure Beach tram stop which is right outside the main entrance.

I'm not saying I couldn't walk it (I almost definitely could), I was just surprised by how long Blackpool Promenade is!

 

[rob666]

North to south pier is a half hour march, station to coast another ten, so forty minutes total.
Always an entertaining walk.
The "official" Golden Mile is the stretch between north and central piers, full of tat shops and bars, the second bit is longer, more boring, with non stop hotels and pubs.
Loads of stuff to spot, including the old elephant ramp at the Tower, so the elephants could play on the beach every day.

 

[RicketyCricket]

I'd advise ignoring others advice and go for it. It's fun to spread your wings and be impulsive.

Especially if you're nervous about travelling alone, a few hours at a theme park is a great reason to get out there and do things on your own terms.

 

[Matt N]

I'd advise ignoring others advice and go for it. It's fun to spread your wings and be impulsive.

Especially if you're nervous about travelling alone, a few hours at a theme park is a great reason to get out there and do things on your own terms.

Apologies for the late response @RicketyCricket; genuinely forgot to reply!

I think I've decided against doing it for now, though; as others said, I think it would probably be a lot of stress for a very short park day if I were to attempt it in one day, and I'm not sure that I'm quite confident enough at travelling to go that far North on my own at this stage.

That's not to say I'm not going to try and do some lone theme park travelling in 2022; as I've said, I'm going to try and take the train to Drayton Manor in 2022, as that park can be reached via a direct train to Wilnecote in less than 2 hours from my local station. The walk to the park itself also looks like one I can easily handle; it's around 40 minutes, and it looks fairly walkable (in terms of things like there being adequate public footpaths the whole way), as well as nice and calm in terms of crowds and general atmosphere. And besides, I haven't been to Drayton since 2018, and I'd like to give Apocalypse a send-off before it goes, if that rumour is true! There's also other things at Drayton I never rode on my first visit, so when combined with the fairly easy transport, it should hopefully be a really good day!

I could well attempt Blackpool via public transport at some point in the future, but as I'm not currently the most confident lone traveller, and as I'd ideally want to confine any lone trip to one day for the time being, I think I'd probably prefer to walk before I run in regard to lone travelling; jumping from the 30-minute direct (well, mostly direct anyway; I do change in Gloucester on occasion) train to Cheltenham and 25-minute quiet walk to university (the current extent of my lone travels on public transport) to the 4-hour indirect train to Blackpool North and the hour long walk through a busy Blackpool is quite a big jump, whereas the 1h 40m direct train to Wilnecote and the 40-minute quiet walk to Drayton is less of a jump. I think it would make me more comfortable if I eased myself gently into lone theme park travelling than if I jumped straight off the deep end with a huge day trip up North, as it were. I enjoyed my first lone theme park day at Thorpe last year and I can handle the train to university fine, so why wouldn't I enjoy a day at Drayton on public transport?

And besides, if I can still get to Blackpool this season with my parents like my mum suggested, I would still get a 2022 BPB visit, and most probably a more enjoyable one at that, as we'd probably stay in a hotel and have a fuller park day!

Do you get what I mean? Sorry if I sound slightly irrational...