Drive and Stroll, with Ron Freethy

THIS is the time when I start planning my walks and take into consideration the impact of lots of visitors with the associated parking problems.

This is why I chose to walk along the Blackpool beach from the airport to just beyond the Tower.

Before I set off I looked at my collection of old photographs and used these to allow me to appreciate that this is a place to walk through history.

Squires Gate -- it really was once the Squire's Gate -- was once Blackpool's racecourse and in 1909 an air show was held more or less as a flying circus.

Thousands of people attended and the offices in Blackburn of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's predecessor had signs in the window indicating whether flying conditions were suitable.

If they were, people got on the train and went to see the "Flying Kites."

Squires Gate can thus claim to be the oldest airport in Britain.

My next step was to view the Pleasure Beach.

Looking at this from the sands, what a change there is from the situation in 1904.

It was then just a "pleasure beach" with gipsies telling fortunes and the Thompson family (which still owns the area) building new exciting rides.

One of these was Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine.

This still works today but it is not often remembered that Maxim was an aviation pioneer who longed to see these carriages fly "without the aid of wires."

If you want to discover the history of an area then you could do worse than study the pubs.

As I walked along the sands, which look much cleaner than was the case a few years ago, two pubs attracted my notice.

These were Foxhall and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Both are now modern but have a fascinating history.

Foxhall was once a hunting lodge which was built around 1651.

Once Blackpool developed this was demolished to make room for tourists.

The present pub is on the old site.

In contrast, Uncle Tom's Cabin is not on the original site. Originally Uncle Tom's was built on a headland which has now been washed away by the sea.

The establishment took its name from a ship's figurehead which had been washed up by the sea.

This showed a worker from the cotton plantations of the southern states of America.

Uncle Tom's was famous for having a dancefloor and a supply of tea, coffee, beers, wines and spirits.

Those who did not have the energy to dance could hire a telescope and gape out to sea.

In those days steamers regularly brought tourists to Blackpool.

I have never liked walking just for the sake of walking.

This is why I choose areas which have got lots of history and natural history.

The Fylde Coast has both of these factors in abundance. You need space to enjoy these and so you should go in May and avoid the peak season.