When you’re sat on the beach of Blackpool’s North Shore and the sun is beating down, it’s hard to believe the resort has been named one of the gloomiest in the UK.
But if you’re being realistic, and know Blackpool at least slightly well, you’d be foolish to throw away your umbrella and burn your cagoule.
According to a recent study, the seaside town was found to have one of the most miserable climates in the UK. Boffins looked at different factors including the average number of daylight hours in the year, which month of the year has the most sun, average annual temperature, the number of beaches and average annual rainfall.
On a sunny Friday morning (May 12), however, the Comedy Carpet could feels like the Mediterranean. Whilst there is no denying that Blackpool sees its fair share of rain and wind, tourists and residents alike say no amount of miserable weather would stop them from visiting their beloved town, adding that they’d simply ‘put a waterproof on’ and carry on regardless.
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The promenade was packed as the sun shone. Many people were from other parts of the country, getting a final few rays before they travelled back home.
One such couple, Gill and Julian Holmes, were spending a quiet morning sat on the benches in front of the tower, debating if they were going to go up or not. When told that Blackpool was the second worst place for sunshine, they laughed, and said it’s been ‘beautiful’ for the entirety of their trip.
They said: “We’d come regardless of the sunshine. We’d have spent more time in the car, less time walking along the front and so on but we’d have come anyway. We’d have just put on a waterproof.
“We hadn’t been to Blackpool for many many years and whilst the weather has made it special, we’d still have enjoyed the trip. We visited Lytham St Annes as well as Fleetwood and was able to thoroughly enjoy every part of the holiday.
“We were able to watch the sunset from the top of the Wetherspoons which we were really lucky to do, but we would have been just as happy if it were raining.”
According to the Met Office, Blackpool has an average of 147.36 days of rainfall, with 886.41mm of precipitation falling annually. This means that over 40% of days in Blackpool will see some sort of rainfall. But Tracy and Janet from Wakefield say they come twice a year and they always get lucky with the weather.
Tracy said: “I came in March and of course now, we’ve dropped in both times and it’s been lovely. I’ve just been saying to Janet that tomorrow is meant to be gorgeous.
“I mean there’s plenty to do either way. When it rains, we go on the bingo, we go to the Mecca. But today we’ve come for a sit down in the sun, we’ve got to make the most of it.
“We are always fortunate with the weather, but it a bit of rain would never put us off coming.”
These sentiments are echoed by Cheryl Mulholland and Lee George, who moved to Blackpool three years ago, purely because there was so much to do for their kids when it rained.
Cheryl said: “We take them to Stanley Park, we take them to the play area in the FunZone. There’s the sandcastle, there’s just loads to do for the kids when it rains.
“But in the summer, we’re here at the beach every single day, rain or shine. The kids love it. Moving here is the best thing we ever did.
“To be fair though, when the sun shines, it is great. This sunburn is just from being sat on the beach yesterday before work for a bit. It’s great.”
One resident, who didn’t wish to be named, simply said: “Blackpool is special in the sun, but the sun isn’t what makes Blackpool special.”
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