On Wednesday 9th September 2026, I headed out on another railway adventure, this time making my way from Liverpool to Blackpool using Northern’s Flash Sale tickets, which cost me just £2 for a return journey to Blackpool North. The Flash Sale ran from 2nd to 4th September 2026, offering some fantastic fares, so I couldn’t resist taking advantage of it and planning a day out to the seaside. I started my journey at the magnificent Liverpool Lime Street station, one of the major gateways to the North and South of the UK. From here, you can catch trains to destinations including Glasgow, London, Manchester and many more, making Lime Street a great starting point for an adventure.

Rather than simply jumping on a direct service from Liverpool Lime Street to Blackpool North, I decided to mix things up a little and break the journey up at St Helens Central. This gave me the opportunity to experience a different service and enjoy a slightly different journey rather than travelling directly to Blackpool. I boarded a Northern service towards St Helens Central, with the journey giving me another chance to enjoy the railway before continuing onwards towards the coast. It was a simple change to the plan, but sometimes these little detours make the day that bit more interesting!

Once I arrived at St Helens Central, I had around ten minutes to wait for my next train to arrive. The service I was waiting for had originally started its journey at Liverpool Lime Street, departing at 12:40, just one minute later than scheduled. However, this didn’t really matter to me as I had plenty of time and, most importantly, I was heading towards my destination of Blackpool North! When the train eventually arrived, I boarded and decided to sit towards the rear of the train. I chose this spot partly because I wanted to be close to the toilet for the journey, but also because it gave me a good opportunity to take some photos along the way and capture a few moments of the journey as I headed further north towards Blackpool.

Arriving into Preston a few minutes late, I didn’t have too much time to worry about the delay as we were soon leaving Preston and heading towards Blackpool North, the terminus of the line. Once we leave Preston, the journey takes us along the branch towards Blackpool, and this is honestly one of my favourite journeys to do by train. The scenery along this stretch is just breathtaking and beautiful, with fields galore as you make your way towards the coast. The weather on the day also helped to make the journey even better, as it was a lovely day to be out travelling by train, with plenty of sunshine and some great views to enjoy along the way. It’s one of those journeys where I can just sit back, look out of the window and enjoy the scenery.

Blackpool North itself has an interesting history too, as the station used to be located in a slightly different position to where it is today, with the former station site being around the area where the current tram stop and Holiday Inn are now located. Arriving into Blackpool North marked the end of this part of my journey, but it certainly wasn’t the end of my adventure for the day! This is going to be a bit of a two-in-one post, as after arriving in Blackpool I decided to head out and enjoy a mini adventure on the famous Blackpool Trams. So, with the train journey complete, it was time to head towards the tramway and see what I could get up to!

Arriving into Blackpool North at around 13:57, we were pretty much on time, and although the train would depart again at 14:05 back towards Liverpool Lime Street, I had around six hours in Blackpool before I needed to catch my return service. The train would make its way back through Poulton-le-Fylde, Preston, Leyland, Euxton Balshaw Lane, Wigan North Western, St Helens Central and Huyton before finally terminating once again at Liverpool Lime Street, arriving at around 20:20 in the evening. Having plenty of time to spare meant I could make the most of my afternoon in Blackpool, and of course, this gave me the perfect opportunity to spend some time riding the famous Blackpool Trams. The last time I visited Blackpool was with my ex, but this time around things are very different, as I’m now in a new relationship and very happy, which made this visit feel like another new chapter in my adventures. This is all part of my ongoing adventures here on my blog, and I’m looking forward to sharing what I got up to during my time on the trams!

Starting my mini adventure here in Blackpool, I decided to travel towards Starr Gate on the Blackpool Tramway, one of the oldest surviving tramways in the world. The tramway originally opened back in August 1885, making it an incredibly historic part of Blackpool and its transport network. In fact, it opened just one year before the Mersey Railway opened its underground stations and tunnels beneath the River Mersey, so there is a huge amount of history behind both networks. I made my way to the North Pier Tram Stop and waited for the first tram to arrive towards Starr Gate. Once it arrived, I jumped aboard and settled in for the journey down the promenade.

For this trip, my main focus wasn’t really about ticking off stations or trying to achieve anything in particular, but simply to enjoy the trams, explore the local areas and take in the atmosphere of Blackpool. I decided to get off at South Pier, giving me a chance to have a look around and enjoy the area before continuing with my little adventure. I had previously travelled towards Starr Gate back in April 2025, so it was also interesting to return again and see whether anything had changed since my last visit. Sometimes it’s nice to come back to somewhere you’ve visited before, especially when you can experience it in a slightly different way and just enjoy the journey without rushing around.

Whilst here, I had a short time to wait for my next tram, but instead of standing around, I decided to walk towards Waterloo Road Tram Stop, where I took the opportunity to spend a little bit of time in the local McDonald’s. I grabbed myself a snack and a drink and, most importantly, managed to charge my phone up before continuing with my adventure down the line towards North Pier. Waterloo Road also reminded me of the BBC TV show Waterloo Road, which is one of my favourite TV shows of all time alongside Doctor Who. Although the show itself is filmed over in Manchester, the name still brought back a few memories for me! But getting back to the trams, I continued my journey along the promenade and headed towards Central Pier Tram Stop, where you really start to get that feeling of being beside the sea, with the tram line running right alongside the waterfront. It’s a great part of the journey, especially when the weather is nice, as you can really take in the views and enjoy being by the coast whilst travelling by tram.

From here, I decided to walk one stop once again towards Manchester Square, giving me another opportunity to explore a little bit more of the area rather than simply waiting around for the next tram. Once I reached Manchester Square, I decided it was time to start making my way back towards North Pier, as I still had to get back across Blackpool and make my way to Blackpool North Station for my train home. It was a lovely afternoon to be out exploring, and I was glad I had given myself plenty of time in Blackpool to enjoy the trams without having to rush around.

Thankfully, I only had a short wait for the next tram towards North Pier, so I didn’t have to wait around for too long. The main idea behind my little tram adventure was to tick off the three piers along the route and, more importantly, simply enjoy being onboard the trams and taking in the journey. I’m not too sure when I’ll next be back in Blackpool, so I wanted to make the most of the opportunity while I was here. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back, enjoy the ride and take in the surroundings without having a strict plan for the day, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do on this visit.

From here, I decided to bring my trip to Blackpool to an end and make the most of the remaining time before heading back to Blackpool North for my train home. I decided to have a look around some of the local LGBTQ+ bars, eventually heading to Garlands, where I met a lovely Drag Queen called Bunny Hopps. It was a really nice way to finish off my afternoon in Blackpool, and I thoroughly enjoyed my little adventure, from the train journey up from Liverpool to spending time exploring the Blackpool Tramway. It was great to simply get out, enjoy myself and experience something a little different.

This trip is also the first part of a little mini-series here on my blog, focusing on Northern’s £2 Flash Sale, which took place between 2nd and 4th September 2026. I have two more trips booked using the Flash Sale, with Leeds and Sheffield coming up, and I’m hoping to use these adventures as an opportunity to visit a bunch of stations and get the ball rolling again with my station count. My next adventure will be Leeds on Friday 11th September, so there is plenty more to come! As always, thank you for following along with my adventures, and I hope you’ll join me for the next one.