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A dancing break in Lytham St Annes and a walk along the Fylde Coast
18 April 2023
On Sunday 5 March 2023, 40 dancers from our 2 Sequence Dancing groups travelled to Lytham St. Annes for a 3 night stay at The Inn on the Prom hotel. This holiday was organised by Lynda, our Sequence Dancing coordinator. We were met by the Dance Holiday organisers, Alan and Eunice Lam, who had arranged a programme of tuition and evening social dancing for the full group of 60 dancers.
On Monday morning we learnt 3 new dances in 90 minutes! What’s more, we remembered them later in the evening dance sessions.
Tuesday was a free day. Some of the group opted to go to the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, but Lynda had been in touch with Mike, one of the administrators of Lytham u3a Walking groups. She had suggested that they take us on a walk to show us parts of their area that possibly we might not see whilst on our short break at St. Annes. Luckily for us they jumped at the chance.
Sixteen of us met the walkers from Lytham u3a at our hotel and quickly introduced ourselves. Mike was joined by Graham (the other administrator), their historian Sue and others. Sue was equipped with information sheets for different points along the walk which made it all the more interesting.
It was a beautiful, sunny and clear day, with only a light breeze, perfect for the Red Rose and the White Rose to be walking side by side on a linear 5 mile walk from St. Annes to Lytham along the Fylde Coast.
First stop was at the bronze statue of Les Dawson, sculpted by Barnsley’s Graham Ibbeson, then past the pier, walking along the promenade. Here, Sue told us about the RNLI disaster, commonly known as the Mexico disaster. On the evening of 9 December 1886, three lifeboats were launched to save the 12 crew of the German barque, Mexico. In treacherous weather the German crew were rescued by the Lytham lifeboat but the other two lifeboats capsized and 27 lifeboat crew lost their lives.
At Fairhaven Lake , we saw a full-size model of a Spitfire which is a memorial to the RAF, Commonwealth and US Air Forces. Fairhaven is a saltwater lake and because this coastline is fed by the Gulf Stream, many seabirds nest here. Reaching the famous and impressive Lytham sand dunes, we walked along the edge until we reached the new sea defence walls for a photo stop.
We left the coast and made our way to Lytham Hall, set in a large country park. Sue told us that the Hall itself has had an interesting history of gambling debts and bankruptcy but is now open to the public, has a garden centre and does old fashioned afternoon teas.
It was time to part company, but Mike and Graham had another surprise in store for us. They had reserved tables at The Railway pub for lunch. Tired and hungry, we made our way to spend another hour gossiping to each other. After lunch we said goodbye to our walk hosts and returned by bus to our hotel to get ready for the Prosecco reception and final and formal evening dance.
A wonderful and enjoyable three night break, excellent dancing, good food, and a super walk.
A big thank you to the members of Lytham u3a Walking Group for adding to our enjoyment.
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