The Cocker Street pocket: Springfield Road, Yates Street and Banks Street
The side streets between Dickson Road and Lord Street, where gay hotels, a gin lounge, a sauna and tiny bars sit cheek by jowl.
What this pocket is
Between the two long streets of the quarter, Dickson Road and Lord Street, a ladder of short side streets links them together. Springfield Road, Banks Street, Cocker Street, Yates Street and Pleasant Street are lined with tall terraced guesthouses, and a surprising number of them are LGBTQ+ hotels or have a small bar. This is where the quarter feels most like a village. If you are staying in the Rainbow Quarter, there is a good chance your bed is here.
None of these streets is long. You can walk the whole pocket in fifteen minutes, but it rewards slow exploring.
Springfield Road
Springfield Road runs inland from the Promenade, past the back of the Metropole Hotel, and crosses Dickson Road at the junction with the rainbow crossings. It then carries on towards Lord Street.
Acqua Sauna (25–27 Springfield Road). A men's gay sauna, aged 18 and over, about two minutes from Blackpool North station. It has a dry sauna, steam room, large hot tub, cabins, a video lounge and a café area, and it bills itself as the region's longest-running gay sauna. It opens seven days a week and stays open through the night on Fridays and Saturdays. Most sessions are male only, with occasional mixed events advertised in advance. It also hosts bear socials.
Gin & Bear It (34A Springfield Road). A gin lounge attached to the Man Bar and Growlr Club, with a gin list of a couple of hundred bottles and tonics matched to your taste. It opens Friday to Sunday evenings and is a calmer, cosier room than the club next door.
The Old Electric. An arts venue on Springfield Road where Blackpool's LGBTQ+ community choir, Electric Pink Voices, rehearses on Tuesday evenings. It is also where the town's big LGBTQ+ heritage project started in 2021.
The rainbow junction. Where Springfield Road crosses Dickson Road, all four arms of the junction are painted in Progress Pride colours.
Banks Street
Antinous Lounge & Bistro (42 Banks Street). The lounge and bistro side of the Trades building, with food, drinks and community events. Handy for a bite before heading round to Lord Street.
Welhorny's (33–37 Banks Street). A private-members, men-only naturist guesthouse and bar, with breakfast and party nights. It runs themed weekends, including bear and pup events, and has opened as a members-only venue during the winter Pride fundraising weekend.
Banks Street car park. The council's open-air car park in this area is the cheapest of the nearby options for stays of a few days. See our parking guide.
Cocker Street
Chaps Hotel (9–11 Cocker Street). A long-standing gay hotel near the Dickson Road end of the street, with themed en-suite rooms, breakfast and a bar. It is adults only and has run a weekly offer of seven nights for the price of five.
Evanescent (18 Cocker Street). A small bar with rooms, licensed since 2024, known for cheap drinks, a DJ who takes requests, karaoke and live acts. It is a popular place for a first drink before heading out.
The B and B Blackpool and Secrets (19 Cocker Street). A budget bed and breakfast with a small bar, Secrets, right next door to Evanescent. Pair the two for a quick Cocker Street stop. Breakfast is served at a sister hotel a minute away.
Yates Street, Pleasant Street and General Street
Prince Albert Hotel (11 Yates Street). A discreet four-star hotel for gay and bisexual men only, with no visible street sign, a guest bar and lounge, and refurbished rooms. It runs themed weekends through the year.
Neon (15 Yates Street). The cocktail bar and Hotel Neon on the corner of Lord Street, with a back garden. It opens Thursday to Sunday.
The Dame Lane (4 Pleasant Street). A licensed bed and breakfast with its own bar, which guests place in the heart of the gay quarter. It hosts bingo afternoons and live singers and serves a well-reviewed full breakfast. It isn't exclusively gay.
Lawrence House Hotel (33 General Street). An adults-only guesthouse run by gay people for gay guests and their friends, with straight guests welcome. Its bar and dining room open nightly, with home-cooked evening meals. It publishes an access statement, which is still unusual in the quarter.
High Street, behind the station
Pride Lodge (12 High Street). A gay-owned LGBTQ+ guesthouse right next to Blackpool North station, with a guest sauna, sunbed, multi-gym and a clothing-optional garden and hot tub in season. It sells discounted parking passes for the Banks Street car park and gives guests a discount card for local venues.
Best order to walk it
First evening in town: start at Evanescent or Secrets on Cocker Street, walk to Neon on Yates Street for a cocktail, then cross over to Dickson Road via the rainbow junction on Springfield Road.
A slow weekend afternoon: begin at The Dame Lane's bingo, wander through Cocker Street, and finish with a gin at Gin & Bear It when it opens in the evening.
Good to know
- These streets are residential and full of guesthouses. Please be quiet on the pavements late at night.
- Parking on these streets is very limited and often permit-controlled. Use the car parks.
- Several venues here are men only, adults only or members only. Read their policies before you turn up with a mixed group.