The tidy seaside town with timeless charm

On the coast of Lancashire, in the north-west of England, Blackpool looms large. Its Eiffel-esque tower can be seen from afar (even from North Wales on a clear day), while its diverse draws — from roller coasters to ballroom dancing — bring in millions of (mostly British) visitors annually.

But there are quieter and prettier alternatives to that brash and bustling coastal resort.

I’ve arrived in one this late summer’s afternoon. “Leafy Lytham” says the sign above the gateway leading from the platform of this little station on the South Fylde line, which curves between Preston and Blackpool South.

Sporting a picturesque frontage, the Lytham station building dates from the 1860s and after falling into disuse following cutbacks, it was restored and revived as a tavern in the 1980s. The Station Pub and Grill is one of dozens of places plying punters with food and drink in Lytham’s neat and tidy town centre, which is set back from where the freshwater River Ribble meets the saltwater of the Irish Sea.

Beer gardens, alfresco cafes and bistros are doing a fair trade today, many strung on — or just off — Clifton Street, a thoroughfare that takes its name from the Clifton family, landowners of swathes of the Fylde, the peninsula hugging this coast. On the family’s ancestral estate, just north-west of the train station, Lytham Hall is a fine Georgian manor that welcomes visitors for self-guided tours. Admission fees apply, but it’s free to walk around the wooded parkland, which hosts events and activities throughout the year, from park runs to classic car rallies.

Also free to enter, in a former bank overlooking the town’s Market Square, Lytham Heritage Centre charts the history and allure of a resort that first rose to prominence in the late 18th century when sea bathing became fashionable among Britain’s well-to-do classes.

The arrival of the railway in 1846 further enhanced Lytham’s appeal, widening the net of potential visitors to this ancient fishing settlement. I enjoy perusing the centre’s contemporary paintings of local faces and landscapes, while ancient exhibits also pique my interest, notably Roman coins found on the beach here, dated from AD341.

Sooner or later, you’ll be lulled towards Lytham Green, a vast, well-tended-to expanse of grass dividing the town centre from the estuary. It’s a lovely place for ball games, flying kites and picnics (I’d recommend stocking up on goodies at Booths, an upscale northern English supermarket chain, with deli counters, 700m east of the train station).

The green’s most arresting sight is the Lytham Windmill. With whitewashed walls and black sails, it was built in 1805 as a wind-powered corn mill. Tragedy struck in the early 1900s, first, when a boy visiting with his family from Manchester clung to one of the sails and fell to his death, then a decade later, when fire destroyed the landmark’s mechanism.

Refurbished and reopened in 1989, the windmill now houses a (free) heritage museum and is next door to the old lifeboat house. That’s a stone’s throw from the station for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), a national charity that this year marks its 200th anniversary of saving lives at sea. Today volunteers are outside, chatting to passers-by, handing out information and advice (including to beware the coast’s tidal forces).

It’s low tide now, so it’s quite safe to walk out on the jetty boardwalk that snakes out to the estuary. Looking back, I see the sails of the windmill and the spire of a neo-Gothic church poking above the marshlands. What a lovely rustic scene. Glancing up the coast, beached wooden fishing boats and fluttering birds vie for my attention.

Lytham is a delight for birders, with an array of resident and migrating creatures to seek out through your binoculars at various points of the year. You may clasp eyes on, for example, a redshank or a ringed plover as you stroll along the promenade that winds up for kilometres towards the sandy beaches of St Anne’s-on-the-Sea (often called Lytham St Annes) and with Blackpool potentially beckoning you further.

Just inland from Lytham Green is Lowther Gardens, another cute green space peppered with pine trees and flower beds, padel and tennis courts, bowls and putting lawns and a carp pond. A pavilion and theatre has a busy program of live music, featuring both tribute and original acts (Liverpool band The Lightning Seeds is a 2024 highlight).

A new addition to the park is a statue of Bobby Ball. One of the most popular British comics of the late 20th century, forming a double act with Tommy Cannon, Bobby spent much of his life in Lytham and died in Blackpool during the COVID pandemic. Weighing 600kg, the bronze statue depicts him in his pomp, with a twinkle in his eye as he pulls on one of his trademark braces (which he typically did while delivering his “rock on Tommy” catchphrase).

Both in the park, and across Lytham, there’s a definite tinge of nostalgia. But it’s undeniably charming, especially if, like me, you’ve picked a warm sunny day to visit.

The bygone atmosphere is amplified with the big annual gatherings on Lytham Green. There’s the Lytham Festival, a five-day musical feast (July 2-6, 2025), which has staged the likes of Diana Ross, Simply Red, Lionel Ritchie and Nile Rodgers in recent years. Then you have the 1940s Wartime Weekend, a flurry of period costumes, song and dance, historic vehicles and aircraft, weapons display, military charities and vintage traders. The next edition of that is scheduled for August 16-17, 2025.

fact file

+ Lytham is 20 minutes from Preston, 15 minutes from Blackpool by rail. Trains run every hour, stopping at Lytham and other nearby stations like St-Anne’s-on-the-Sea. See northernrailway.co.uk

+ For more information on visiting the Lytham area, see discoverfylde.co.uk

+ To help plan a trip to Britain, see visitbritain.com