Fleetwood

Fleetwood was the first planned town of the Victorian era, developed by Peter Hesketh, who changed his name to Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood to honour a relative, and then named the new town Fleetwood. Construction began in 1836, and this included a new railway. To the man's credit, his motivation seems to have been to provide a resort for the poor folk of Lancashire and Yorkshire. He nearly bankrupted himself in the process.

The railway became part of - what was effectively - the west coast mainline. Trains from London arrived at Fleetwood, and then passengers proceeded by ferry towards Glasgow. However, this lasted only until 1848, at which point the entire journey could be made by rail. Nevertheless, the railway seems to have flourished, and a new station was built in 1883 (as well as branches to Blackpool and Lytham in 1846). It closed in 1966, and for a while passenger trains stopped at Wyre Dock instead, before that closed in 1970. The line closed to freight in 1999. There is a campaign to re-open the line, and it has made some progress.

I started at Albert Square, as there is a car park near by. Got to admit, it looked more than a little run down, and definitely not square.

The Blackpool trams run through it, and St Peter's Church is adjacent.

I headed southeast, towards the key. Wynsors is notable only because this was the site of the original station.

This is Dock Street, and most of the land between it and the river was either dock or railway. On the other side, I guess most of the buildings were connected to the docks in some way - offices, warehouses, etc. This one was the Crown Hotel. There was a curious lack of pubs, either open or closed.

The entrance to the dock, and it is interesting that there is still a small fishing fleet. Fishing was very important at one time, but Fleetwood was hit badly by the "cod war" and it declined rapidly since. I think there are four wrecks visible to the right in the image.

Looking into the first dock. Freeport retail park is on the right. The docks suffered when Preston dock opened in 1892. However, they may have a new lease of life; Fox purchased the dock for transporting aggregates in 2024. 

Another view of the first dock. The building in the centre with the pale grey roof is now Ice House Joinery, so is presumably where ice was made to pack the fish with before they were dispatched to the cities by train.

I headed inland along Station Street, to another not-square square, with a similar clock tower, but no obvious name. This is as far as the trams went according to a map of 1910.

Warrenhurst Road heads west to the Memorial Park

I headed north from here. There is a large patch of buildings with tiled rooves, rather than slates. I am not aware of anywhere else in Lancashire with terraced houses like that; no idea why it was done here.

St Paul's Church.

Continuing north, and we get to the coast. I think that, like Southport and Grange-over-Sands, the beach is becoming grass and the sea is receding.

The bowling green is, I think, on land reclaimed from the sea. The Marine Hall can be see on the left, and Mount Pavilion to the right. Fleetwood was laid out like half a wheel, and the Mount is at the centre of the arc.

The Mount Hotel, built 1896. It suffered a fire in 2023. CAMRA report the damage has been repaired, but that it has not re-opened because of an insurance dispute.

The Mount Pavillion again, from rather closer.

It was open when I was there, allowing me to see the clock mechanism, as well as meteorology devices.

It also gave some great views from the balcony. This is the view looking south. Blackpool Tower is faintly visible on the horizon, far right.

Looking northeast, across Morecambe Bay. Heysham power station is visible on the horizon, somewhat to the left. The hills on the right are the Pennines.

I think this is the remains of the pier. It was built in 1910, and was one of the last to be built and at just 150 foot, one of the shortest (Southport pier is over twenty-four times longer!). It suffered a fire in 2008, and was demolished later that year.

On the north tip of the peninsula is the North Euston Hotel, built by the railway, hence the name. This impressive building forms a semi-circle.

Nearby stands the Lower Lighthouse. Also called the Beach Lighthouse, it was built in 1839, together with the Pharos Lighthouse, and was originally lit by gas.

Looking up Upper Lune Street, past the North Euston on the right, you can see the Upper or Pharos Lighthouse. Wiki says: "The lighthouses are designed to be used as a pair to guide shipping through the treacherous sandbanks of the Wyre estuary."  Seems to me if you do that you will beach your ship near the Lower Lighthouse, rather than head up the Wyre.

Beside the Lower Lighthouse is this curious building, which seems to be a radar training station. the barricade suggests it is no longer used.

The northern limit of the Blackpool trams, North Euston on the right again.

An old tram waiting room at the base of the Pharos Lighthouse.

Going east, towards the Wyre, this is the view across the river to Knott End.

Heading south, along Queen's Terrace, is the old customs house; the oldest surviving building in the town, built 1836 the blue plaque tells me, and now a museum. 

It was free to enter when I was there, and I had a wander around. Most of it is nautical history, which is not really my thing.

The other side of the road is where the station used to be. No sign of it now.

The port is still used for ferries. This is the crane that lifts and lowers the ramp for vehicles to drive on and off.

The Steamer - one of a very few pubs I saw, and the only one that is still open.

And finally the indoor market on Adelaide Street, which brings us back to Albert Square where we started.

I have to say, I was not expecting much from Fleetwood, but it turned out to be a great place full of  points of interest.