Interesting places in Blackpool. Number 1.



The Abingdon Barbecue shop on Abingdon Street in Blackpool is responsible for the meaty aroma that greets you when you step off the train from Preston. As the day trippers stream down Talbot Road towards the sea and the North Pier they are diverted into Abingdon Street by the invisible fleshy whiff oozing from the shop doorway. Purveyors of good northern meats cooked on the premises such as gammon (with a slice of pineapple for added sophistication), hams, chicken quarters, pork pies, meat and potato pies and pork joints. These are removed from the ovens and displayed in the window all shiny and glistening with juices dripping down to the gleaming silver trays. They don’t stay in the window long as there is always a queue of portly ladies eager to feed their families without even switching their ovens on. We’ve joined the line a few times and partaken of the odd pork pie and barm cake* with sausage and bacon but since the weight watchers regime began last November we’ve tried to steer clear. Not very successfully. This shop remains an icon of any visit to the town centre and really good value too (four pork pies for a pound!).

*a barm cake is a large white soft bread roll.