"Twenty years ago, Blackpool turned its back on the sea and tried to make itself into an entertainment center,"says Robin Wood, a local official. "Now the thinking is that we should try to refocus on the sea and make Blackpool a family destination again." To say that Blackpool neglected the sea is to put it mildly. In 1976 the European Community, as it then was called, instructed member nations to make their beaches conform to certain minimum standards of cleanliness within ten years. Britain, rather than complying, took the novel strategy of contending that many of its most popular beaches were not swimming beaches at all. Because of Britain’’s climate the sea-bathing season is short, and most people don’’t go in above their knees anyway -- and hence can’’t really be said to be swimming. By averaging out the number of people actually swimming across 365 days of the year, the government was able to persuade itself, if no one else, that Britain had hardly any real swimming beaches. As one environmentalist put it to me: "You had the ludicrous situation in which Luxembourg had more listed public bathing beaches than the whole of the United Kingdom. It was preposterous." Meanwhile, Blackpool continued to discharge raw sewage straight into the sea. Finally, after much pressure from both environmental groups and the European Union, the local water authority built a new waste-treatment facility for the whole of Blackpool and neighboring communities. The facility came online in June 1996. For the first time since the industrial revolution Blackpool’’s waters are safe to swim in. That done, the town is now turning its attention to making the seafront more visually attractive. The promenade, once a rather elegant place to stroll, had become increasingly tatty and neglected. "It was built in Victorian times and needed a thorough overhaul anyway," says Wood, "so we decided to make aesthetic improvements at the same time, to try to draw people back to it. Blackpool recently spent about $1.4 million building new kiosks for vendors and improving seating around the Central Pier and plans to spend a further $15 million on various amenity projects. The most striking thing about Blackpool these days compared with 20 years ago is how empty its beaches are. When the tide is out, Blackpool’’s beaches are a vast plain of beckoning sand. They look spacious enough to accommodate comfortably the entire populace of northern England. Ken Welsby remembers days when, as he puts it, "you couldn’’t lay down a handkerchief on this beach, it was that crowded." Welsby comes from Preston, 20 miles down the road, and has been visiting Blackpool all his life. Now retired, he had come for the day with his wife, Kitty, and their three young grandchildren, who were gravely absorbed in building a sandcastle. "Two hundred thousand people they’’d have on this beach sometimes,"Welsby said. "You can’’t imagine it now, can you" Indeed I could not. Though it was a bright sunny day in the middle of summer, I counted just 13 people scattered along a half mile or so of open sand. Except for those rare times when hot weather and a public holiday coincide, it is like this nearly always now. "You can’’t imagine how exciting it was to come here for the day when we were young." Kitty said, "Even from Preston, it was a big treat. Now children don’’t want the beach. They want arcade games and rides in helicopters and goodness knows what else." She stared out over the glittery water. "We’’ll never see those days again. It’’s sad really." "But your grandchildren seem to be enjoying it," I pointed out. "For the moment , "Ken said. "For the moment." Afterward I went for a long walk along the empty beach, then went back to the town center and treated myself to a large portion of fish-and-chips wrapped in paper. The way they cook it in Blackpool, it isn’’t so much a meal as an invitation to a heart attack, but it was delicious. Far out over the sea the sun was setting with such splendor that I would almost have sworn I could hear the water kiss where it touched. Behind me the lights of Blackpool Tower were just twinkling on, and the streets were beginning to fill with happy evening throngs. In the purply light of dusk the town looked peaceful and happy ― enchanting even ― and there was an engaging air of expectancy, of fun about to happen. Somewhat to my surprise, I realized that this place was beginning to grow on me. What Blackpool’’s beaches strike visitors most is their

A. emptiness.
B. cleanliness.
C. modernity.
D. monotony.