UK traditional seaside resort slammed as ‘a dump’

According to Visit Blackpool, the Lancashire seaside resort town “is one of the best beach resorts you will find in the UK”. The popular seaside resort has been a popular attraction since the mid-eighteenth century and is commonly associated with a traditional day at the beach.

An analysis conducted by Preply, looked at Tripadvisor reviews to determine the “most disappointing beaches in the UK”. And while Blackpool didn’t take the top spot, which went to North Shore Beach in Llandudno, it did make it onto the top 10 list.

The study looked at TripAdvisor reviews from previous visitors to the beach to find the 10 beaches in the UK with the most one, two and three-star reviews, to reveal which ones might leave you feeling underwhelmed.

“Blackpool is a popular destination among Brits for a number of reasons. From its fun-filled Pleasure Beach theme park to its iconic tower, it is undoubtedly a fantastic place to visit in summer,” said Preply.

“However, 14 percent of visitors weren’t as thrilled when visiting Blackpool Beach. The disappointed reviews mostly pointed to how overcrowded the beach was, particularly during the summer months.”

Despite the research conducted by Preply, Blackpool’s Tripadvisor page shows that it still comes out with a 4.5-star rating overall.

Blackpool Council has pointed out that out of the 1,340 reviews – only 187 (14 percent)  rated the beach as average, poor or terrible. This means approximately 84 percent of people rated it good or very good, the top two ratings available.

In fact, Blackpool’s most recent tourism figures show that visitor numbers hit the 20 million mark in 2022, meaning there are still plenty of holidaymakers who love the seaside resort. 

TripAdvisor also features plenty of positive reviews from visitors who can’t get enough of Blackpool. A visitor from Norwich wrote: “Lovely sandy beach as far as you can see! You can swim, have a foot massage by walking on the sand, sunbathe or just rest and relax and watch the sunset!

“We went with teenagers and young children. Everyone enjoyed their time.” [SIC]

However, as for the negative reviews, one visitor to the seaside town slammed it as “a dump”. On TripAdvisor, they wrote: “What a dump. What can I say, humans are disgusting, or they are while they are visiting Blackpool it would seem. We walked the whole of the so-called golden mile, we spent an hour or two on the beach and we walked through the town and it was all filthy. Litter everywhere.

“As the tide came in on the beach it washed a line of bottles, nappies and fast food cartons up with it…… what a shame, it used to be a lovely place. I won’t be going back in a hurry.”

Another visitor who spent time at the beach in August said: “One of the dirtiest and smelliest places I’ve been in UK. Literally garbage everywhere. Horrible experience. Definitely would not go back to Blackpool.” [SIC]