Weekend in... Lytham St Annes

Once, there were two seaside resorts that were separated by six miles of sand dune on the Fylde coast in Lancashire. Both welcomed their first visitors in the 18th century, but while Blackpool developed into a bustling Victorian pleasure park, Lytham remained under the control of the Clifton family, whose former seat of Lytham Hall is a stroll from the seafront. They oversaw the building of Lytham’s tree-lined avenues, cobbled lanes and pebble-studded cottages, its ‘village’ green and dinky windmill.

The pier they built was demolished in 1960, but the daytrippers had long gone north to St Annes, a planned resort founded by Victorian businessmen on the outskirts of Blackpool. They left behind a quiet gem of a place, where the rowdiest visitors are the wildfowl and waders that overwinter in the mud and saltmarsh fringing the promenade. Lytham St Annes – the two are separate but were united municipally in the 1920s – has a reputation for retirement homes and golf, but it also has a boutique B&B, independent shops, and back lanes crammed with restaurants and wine bars – perfect for an out-of-season escape.

Saturday am

11am A stroll along the prom
Lytham’s landmark windmill, built in 1805 and rebuilt after fire destroyed its sails in 1919, is the natural starting point for a walk along the promenade. This wide, flat walkway skirts the Ribble Estuary, running along the sea defence barrier next to the ribbon of manicured grass known as the green. Overtaken by joggers and mobility scooters, I gawp at the seven-figure townhouses lining the coast road and gaze across the estuary towards Southport and Snowdonia. The tide is out and the mud shines in the winter sunshine; I pass a group of cockle pickers heading back home with their haul in a carrier bag. When the prom peters out after 30 minutes, I see Fairhaven Lake, a flooded golf course behind the sea wall that is home to an RSPB reserve. The path carries on along the dunes towards St Annes, with its sandy beach and Victorian pier. But it is nearly time for lunch.

Saturday pm

1pm The plaice to be
There are many eateries in Lytham where you can dine on pasta and sip white wine (try Zest, 21 Market Square, 01253 735253), but I am beside the seaside in winter, and only chips will do. When I take my seat at Seniors (97-99 Clifton Street, 01253 734445, www.thinkseniors.com), I have high expectations – I once ate at the Blackpool branch of this award-winning local fish-and-chip chain and the meal was so tasty that no chippy has since come close. Fortunately, Seniors Lytham is every bit as good. My plaice (landed up the road by a Responsible Fishing Scheme member, according to a notice on the wall) is tender and delicate inside crispy, juicy batter, and the fat, fluffy chips beg to be rolled up in buttered white bread.

3pm Gifts galore
Lytham’s breadth of bijou boutiques and gift shops makes it the sort of place where Christmas shopping is a joy – especially when you throw in a synthetic ice rink surrounded by pavement cafés selling mulled wine and hot chocolate. I wallow in the loveliness of Stringers department store (Clifton Square, 01253 740700, www.stringers-lytham.co.uk), before spending too long at CE Atkinson (5 Market Square, 01253 736398), a cookshop full of the kind of novel kitchenware that makes me wonder how I ever managed without a pot to keep my garlic in.

7pm Local hero
Tonight, dinner is at Hastings (26 Hastings Place, 01253 732400, www.hastingslytham.com), whose head chef, Warrick Dodds, worked in some of Lancashire’s most celebrated kitchens before returning to his hometown. Its high ceilings, chandeliers and polished wood floors create a suitably opulent setting in which to enjoy classy modern British cooking, which is based on North West ingredients, such as Morecambe Bay shrimps and Goosnargh ducks. I start with a risotto of Muncaster crab and pineapple, colourful and comforting beneath its garnish of coconut foam, then savour a thickly sliced chump of Bowland lamb on purée potatoes in a wild-mushroom-rich jus.

Sunday am

10am Getting twitchy
The Ribble Estuary is an important filling station for migrating and breeding birds, due to its food-rich mudflats and saltmarshes. At the RSPB’s Ribble Discovery Centre at Fairhaven Lake, I swot up on the sights and sounds that I am likely to encounter on my bird walk – if you go along on 17 December, you can join a free guided walk (01253 796292, www.rspb.org.uk) – before heading north along the coastal path towards St Annes with a pair of binoculars. I practise by spying on a distant kite-surfer; my first few attempts at species-spotting reveal nothing more exciting than gulls. But then I spot a tiny shape in the shallows. Close inspection reveals an unmistakably leggy silhouette. Oh joy, it is a curlew. I watch it probing the sand with its long, sculptural beak until my eyes hurt.

2pm A trip to Blackpool
Blackpool is a 15-minute drive along the seafront, and I can’t resist a peek at the resort’s first 21st-century attraction, the Blackpool Tower Eye. Muddy waves smash the sides of the promenade as I walk against the wind towards the Tower, where a glass-floored Skywalk has been installed on the 380-foot observation deck, promising views as far as the Isle of Man, not to mention vertigo. The ticket price (£12 per adult or £9 if you buy online at www.theblackpooltower.com) includes a trip to a new 4D cinema, during which I get sprayed by water as a gull skims the ocean, then impaled by a moving Blackpool Tower. It is a thrilling appetiser, but as soon as I exit the theatre and see a lady with a walkie- talkie by the Tower Eye lifts, my heart sinks. Flights are suspended due to high winds. Walking glumly down the stairs, I slip onto the balcony of the Tower Ballroom and watch couples transformed into stars as they glide and dip to an accompanying vintage Wurlitzer. The scene is so enchanting that I forget my disappointment. Who needs adrenaline when you can tango?

Need to know...

Stay at…
The Rooms, Jackie and Andy Baker’s five-bed B&B is all polished tile floors, white walls and five-star bathrooms: my room had a free-standing cylindrical rain shower and a bath so long I could float in it. The award-winning breakfast menu promises much and delivers more: locally sourced food, cooked to order and stylishly served. The welcome was so warm that I felt right at home – if only my home looked like this. Double B&B from £125. 35 Church Road (01253 736000, www.theroomslytham.co.uk).

Also try…
The Clifton Arms Hotel, Traditional sea-view hotel overlooking the green. Double B&B from £150. West Beach (01253 739898, www.cliftonarms-lytham.com).

Getting there
Lytham is 20 minutes and St Annes 30 minutes from the West Coast mainline at Preston, from which hourly trains run along the South Fylde Line towards Blackpool (www.southfyldelinecrp.co.uk). For more information, see www.visitlythamstannes.co.uk.