Blackpool in the context of "North Shore, Blackpool"

Lancashire (/ˈlæŋkəʃər/ LANG-kə-shər, /-ʃɪər/ -⁠sheer; abbreviated Lancs) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Preston.

The county has an area of 3,079 square kilometres (1,189 sq mi) and had a population of 1,601,645 in 2024. Preston and Blackburn are located near the centre, Burnley in the east, the seaside resort of Blackpool on the Irish Sea coast in the west, and the city of Lancaster in the north. For local government purposes the county comprises a non-metropolitan county, with twelve districts, and two unitary authority areas: Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. Lancashire County Council and the two unitary councils collaborate through the Lancashire Combined County Authority. The county historically included the Furness and Cartmel peninsulas of Cumbria, northern Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and Warrington, but excluded the eastern part of the Forest of Bowland.

Bottrop (German pronunciation: [ˈbɔtʁɔp] ) is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. Bottrop grew as a mining center beginning in the 1860s, was chartered as a city in 1921, and bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. In 1975, it unified with the neighbouring communities of Gladbeck and Kirchhellen, but Gladbeck left it in 1976, leading to Kirchhellen becoming a district of Bottrop as Bottrop-Kirchhellen. It is also twinned with Blackpool, England.

Blackburn (/ˈblækbɜːrn/ ) is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 8 mi (13 km) east of Preston and 21 mi (34 km) north-northwest of Manchester. Blackburn is at the centre of the wider unitary authority area along with the town of Darwen. It is the second largest town (after Blackpool) in Lancashire.

At the 2011 census, Blackburn had a population of 117,963, whilst the wider borough of Blackburn with Darwen had a population of 150,030; 30.8% of the population of town were people of ethnic backgrounds other than white British.

The Borough of Blackpool is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, North West England. It is named after the seaside town of Blackpool but covers a wider area which includes Anchorsholme, Bispham, Layton, Marton and Squires Gate, as well as the suburbs of Grange Park, North Shore, South Shore and Starr Gate. The borough also forms the core of the wider Blackpool conurbation.

The borough is bordered to the north and north-east by the Borough of Wyre (including Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton and Poulton-le-Fylde), and to the south and south-east by Borough of Fylde (including Lytham St Annes), both of which are non-metropolitan districts in Lancashire. The western boundary is the Irish Sea coast. Surrounding districts form part of the Blackpool Urban Area which covers all the unitary authority area.

The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution.

Although a strong tradition during the 19th and 20th centuries, the observance of the holiday has almost disappeared in recent times, due to the decline of the manufacturing industries in the United Kingdom and the standardisation of school holidays across England.

Anchorsholme is a suburban area of Blackpool and the name of a ward in the Borough of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It lies close to the town of Cleveleys.

Layton is a suburb of Blackpool in the Borough of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. The ward population at the 2011 census was 6,845.

Marton is a historic village on the coastal plain of the Fylde in the Borough of Blackpool in Lancashire, England, most of which is now forms a part of the town of Blackpool. Marton, consists of Great Marton, Little Marton, Marton Fold and The Peel.

Squires Gate is a district and an electoral ward in South Shore, Blackpool on the Fylde coast, in the Blackpool district, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located at the south of the town near the boundary with Lytham St Annes. The population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,437.

One of the most significant sites at Squires Gate was the holiday camp. Originally called Squires Gate camp, it became a Pontins holiday centre, but closed in October 2009 for a housing development. Prior to becoming a holiday camp, the camp was used as a military base during World War II.