The Flying Handbag
A big, purpose-built LGBTQ+ bar and club on Queen Street, open from noon every day with drag hosts, karaoke, food and a sun terrace.
Blackpool for lesbian, bi and queer women
Mixed venues, groups and history for lesbian, bi and queer women visiting Blackpool.
Blackpool's scene grew up around gay men's bars and hotels, and right now the town has no bar run specifically for women. But the quarter's main venues are mixed and welcoming, and there is plenty for lesbian, bi and queer women to enjoy.
Mixed venues to try
The big Queen Street venues and the drag bars draw a mixed LGBTQ+ crowd, and drag cabaret in particular is a night out for everyone.
Funny Girls
Blackpool's best-known drag cabaret, staging big themed revues in a restored 1939 art deco cinema two minutes from Blackpool North.
Garlands
A camp, free-entry drag pub near Blackpool North where resident queens are on from mid-afternoon every single day.
Sherlock's
A stylish weekend LGBTQ+ bar on Queen Street with a balcony over the street, DJs and visiting performers.
Kaos
A Queen Street bar and late club, reopened in July 2026 after a full refit and open until 4am at weekends.
Neon Bar and Hotel Neon
An intimate cocktail bar with a garden, attached to the modern, adults-only Hotel Neon on the corner of Lord Street.
Where to stay
Avoid the men-only houses (Trades, the Prince Albert and Welhorny's). Mixed LGBTQ+ guest houses such as Pride Lodge, De-Lovely, Lawrence House and Westfield House welcome everyone. See our hotels guide.
Groups and community
- Blackpool Allies is a relaxed social evening for LGBT+ people and supporters, twice a month at Horizon on Dickson Road.
- Lytham Let Live is a daytime friendship group on the Fylde.
- Electric Pink Voices, Blackpool's LGBTQ+ choir, welcomes new members.
- The monthly LGBTQ+ swim at Moor Park has the pool to itself, with unisex changing.
Horizon LGBTQ+ at Renaissance
The Rainbow Quarter's LGBTQ+ health centre, offering sexual health clinics, rapid testing, HIV support, counselling and harm reduction on Dickson Road.
Blackpool Renaissance trans support group
A long-running trans peer support group meeting twice a month at a Dickson Road guesthouse, open to trans people, partners and allies.
Lancashire Lads
A monthly peer support evening exclusively for trans men, held at the Horizon centre on Dickson Road.
TransInclusion
A free, monthly peer-led group in Blackpool for trans women and feminine gender-diverse people.
United Youth Alliance
A Fylde coast youth organisation that runs Youth Pride in Blackpool and leads the Be You Youth Provider Quality Mark.
Lancashire LGBT
The county's LGBTQ+ charity, offering counselling, one-to-one support, gender outreach and social activities, including services in Blackpool.
Blackpool Allies
A free, relaxed social evening twice a month for LGBT+ people and anyone who supports them, at the Horizon centre on Dickson Road.
LGBTQ+ Swimming Group, Blackpool
A free monthly hour in the pool just for LGBTQ+ swimmers, with a qualified coach and unisex changing rooms.
Blackpool FC Community Trust LGBTQ+ football
Inclusive recreational football for LGBTQ+ people and allies of any ability, run by Blackpool FC's community charity.
Electric Pink Voices
Blackpool's LGBTQ+ community choir, which rehearses every Tuesday evening and welcomes new members.
Liberty Church Blackpool
A small, openly LGBTQ+ inclusive Christian church in North Shore, with Sunday worship, a free Wednesday meal and same-sex weddings.
Lytham Let Live
An informal daytime friendship meet-up for LGBT people on the Fylde, held once a month in Lytham.
Rainbow Creative Hub
A new arts club for LGBT+ people on the Fylde coast, held at a creative studio in St Annes.
We're Still Here!
An artist-led project building Blackpool's first permanent collection of LGBTQ+ heritage, with oral histories, a history club and exhibitions.
Blackpool Rainbow Alliance
A community interest company supporting LGBTQ+ communities in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, best known for the Rainbow Quarter Street Party.
LGBT Charity UK
A Blackpool-registered LGBTQ+ charity that opened a combined charity shop and drop-in support base in the gay village in 2020.
Adoption Lancashire and Blackpool
The regional adoption agency for Lancashire and Blackpool, which welcomes enquiries from LGBTQ+ people thinking about adopting.
LGBT-inclusive GPs, colleges and charities in Blackpool
Blackpool GP surgeries, colleges and charities that hold or are working towards the county's LGBT inclusion quality mark.
A little history
Women had their own places here once. The original Lucy's Bar was one of the town's first two gay venues, and in the 2000s Lucy's and Lucy's Two on Abingdon Street catered mostly for women. That part of the town's story is still waiting to be written; the We're Still Here! heritage project is collecting memories. See our history of gay Blackpool.