What Blackpool Is Really Like in 2026 | Illuminations, Trams & the Truth
Shanghai PortJapan CountrySouth Korea CountryUnited Kingdom CountryTokyo PortDiamond Princess Cruise Ship
Blackpool in October: the Illuminations, the trams, the Tower and a lot of chips. Bongo shows Chi Chi the town he grew up in - Fleetwood and the Freeport, six miles of lights, the top of the Tower, the Ballroom, the Comedy Carpet and Pleasure Beach, Stanley Park, then a quiet morning in Lytham St Annes. Every price is on screen, and we tell you honestly what we'd do differently. If you enjoyed it, please like, subscribe and share it with someone who loves the seaside. It really does help a little channel like ours grow. And tell us your favourite Blackpool memory in the comments! BOOK BLACKPOOL & OUR TRAVEL KIT AD / AFFILIATE LINKS – we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Tickets and tours are options to compare; we didn't book these through GetYourGuide ourselves. Blackpool Tower Eye & 4D Cinema ticket: https://www.getyourguide.com/blackpool-l446/blackpool-tower-eye-entry-ticket-t364750/?partner_id=70TPURD&utm_medium=online_publisher&cmp=yt-blackpool-tower Tower Ballroom entrance ticket: https://www.getyourguide.com/blackpool-l446/blackpool-blackpool-ballroom-entrance-ticket-t404393/?partner_id=70TPURD&utm_medium=online_publisher&cmp=yt-blackpool-ballroom Afternoon tea at the Tower Ballroom: https://www.getyourguide.com/blackpool-l446/blackpool-afternoon-tea-at-blackpool-tower-ballroom-t442716/?partner_id=70TPURD&utm_medium=online_publisher&cmp=yt-blackpool-tea All Blackpool tickets & tours: https://www.getyourguide.com/blackpool-l446/?partner_id=70TPURD&utm_medium=online_publisher&cmp=yt-blackpool-all Our travel kit (Amazon): LIGHTGO 28-inch suitcase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FFYWP6C6?tag=chichibongoad-21 VANKEV 32L cabin backpack: https://amzn.to/4zCQLLb What we film with – Insta360 Flow 2 Pro: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DPKV8LP7?tag=chichibongoad-21 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. CHAPTERS 0:00 Coming up 0:45 Blackpool: Northern Lights 1:16 Chi Chi's first Blackpool weekend 2:19 Fleetwood and the Freeport 4:31 The Illuminations 6:49 All aboard 7:44 The Tower 8:57 Up the Tower 9:32 Three piers 11:09 The Ballroom 12:08 Roberts' and the chippy 13:11 The proper British seaside 14:20 Bongo's Blackpool 16:24 Comedy Carpet and Pleasure Beach 18:01 The big finale 19:58 Chi Chi's Tip of the Day 20:31 Stanley Park, the Zoo and the Model Village 22:25 Lytham St Annes 27:23 Bongo's verdict 28:06 Blackpool highlights 28:55 Next on the channel PRICES (October 2026 - check before you go) Tower top from £12.50 · Circus £15 · Ballroom £11.50 · Ballroom afternoon tea £60 for two · Pleasure Beach from £30 · Zoo £21.99 · Lytham Hall £12 · Model Village about £11 Free: the Illuminations (donations welcome - please give what you can, it keeps the lights on) · the Comedy Carpet · Stanley Park · Lytham Hall grounds A night: guest houses from about £15 · hotels about £85 NEXT ON THE CHANNEL Our Diamond Princess honeymoon cruise - seven ports, Japan and South Korea - premieres Saturday 31 October at 5pm UK, then a new vlog every week. MORE FROM CHI CHI & BONGO Who are Chi Chi & Bongo? Our story: https://youtu.be/wj5q8xPgrPw 2 Days in Tokyo before our Japan cruise: https://youtu.be/BmAvkQCIrds Shanghai Won Our Hearts: https://youtu.be/PpPcptoZQnc Instagram & TikTok: @chichibongoadventures PICTURE CREDITS Public domain: Library of Congress photochrom prints (about 1895-1900) and old postcards and photos via Wikimedia Commons. CC0: FromTheElectricComic (Tower Circus) · Michael D Beckwith (Tower Ballroom, ceiling) · Immanuel Giel (Blackpool Zoo) · AxaxaxaxMlö (Stanley Park cafe) CC BY 2.0: foundin_a_attic (Hovertram, Western Train, monorail) · Mike McBey (Prom and tram, 1974) · Hazel Scott (Blackpool rock) · uriba (Pleasure Beach) · Sam Beckwith (Pharos Lighthouse, Fleetwood) CC BY-SA 2.0: P Flannagan (1966) · Peter Jeffery (1970) · Dr Neil Clifton (tram, 1960) · russellstreet (fish and chips) · Steven Haslington (penguin pool) · Ian Greig (Model Village) · Gerald England (Fleetwood Market) · Steve Daniels (Knott End ferry) · Robert Wade (Beach Lighthouse) - geograph.org.uk CC BY-SA 3.0: Łukasz Nurczyński (Ballroom dancing) · John Phillips (Captive Flying Machines) CC BY-SA 4.0: James Tamim (Fisherman's Friend) · Joehawkins (Fisherman's Friend factory) · Matthias Meckel (fish and chips) · BlackpoolJC91 / BlackpoolJ91 (Pleasure Beach) · C Ford (The Big One, video) All other footage and photos by Chi Chi & Bongo, or used under licence. Voiceover uses our own voices, recorded and voice-cloned. #Blackpool #BlackpoolIlluminations #FyldeCoast #LythamStAnnes #UKTravel #BritishSeaside