January 2026. Fleetwood.
Not really a cut-out-and-keep guide, and I’d struggle to sell you Fleetwood (pop. 26,232, plus a Football League team) as a holiday destination, but it’s better than Clacton, so there’s that.
I had half an hour before my new GBG pub opened, plenty of time really. I’d actually seen the owner setting up (whatever that means) in the Beer Shed at half twelve, so I knew I’d got a 93% chance of a tick (but keep reading, obvs).
There’s quite a lot of towers, if you like ticking towers. And three lighthouses.
Last time in town I’d managed to fit a two mile dash, two pints, fish & chips, two loo stops in Spoons and a return ferry journey into the 90 minutes hours allowed by Mrs RM’s shopping at the Outlet Centre.
The Royal Oak that day was terrific, one of few cask survivors in a town that’s replaced fishing with cut-price fashion, and the CAMRA pub extract shows the closed pubs in grey.
I barely saw a soul away from Lord Street’s shops, the Promeande only attracted a few motorhomers here for free parking.
It’s nice on the mound,
and the giant North Euston Hotel holds on to a touch of faded grandeur.
But really, just admire the buildings,
and the shop art.
And then hope that pub is open.
retiredmartin 
More great photos! I’ve been to Fleetwood, of course, but I don’t remember any of those sights except the Royal Oak and the North Euston. That ketch, or whatever it is (I’m no expert) is particularly lovely.
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That stretch of road from Blackpool just as you get into Fleetwood is known locally as the P******m Way.
It smells of fish and there’s a ****hole at the end of it.
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Edited for sensibilities of my sensitive readers (mainly me I sense).
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