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.
Gay men in Blackpool
The bars, men-only hotels and saunas, bears, health clinics, peer support and fifty years of history.
Gay describes someone attracted to people of the same gender. It is used most often for men, though some women and non-binary people identify as gay too, and in everyday talk it's often used more broadly, so go by the word each person chooses; this page focuses on gay and bi men. Blackpool has been one of Britain's great LGBTQ+ holiday towns since the 1970s, and almost all of it is packed into a few streets beside Blackpool North station.
The bars
Start on Queen Street for the big nights and late club, then Dickson Road for drag and the friendly smaller bars. Our LGBTQ+ bars guide lists every one, with which are open now.
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.
Man Bar and Growlr Club
A no-frills LGBTQ+ bar with a pool table on Dickson Road, with the men-only Growlr cruise club upstairs.
Peek-a-Booze
A friendly Dickson Road cabaret bar with budget adults-only rooms upstairs, cheap drinks and something on most nights.
Men-only places
Blackpool still has some of the UK's best-known men-only hotels and venues:
- Trades Hotel and Bar: a members' hotel and late bar for gay and bi men.
- The Prince Albert Hotel: a discreet, four-star, men-only hotel.
- Welhorny's (Banks Street): a men-only naturist members' guest house.
- Growlr Club: the men-only cruise club above Man Bar, popular with bears.
- Acqua Sauna and W3 Complex: men's saunas.
See men-only venues, the sauna guide and bear-friendly Blackpool.
Where to stay
From LGBTQ+ guest houses with themed rooms to adults-only boutique suites, see LGBTQ+ hotels in Blackpool and choosing where to stay.
Health
Blackpool makes sexual health easy. Horizon on Dickson Road, in the middle of the quarter, runs free clinics and rapid testing, and W3 hosts a monthly testing clinic. You can also order free kits to your door from SH.UK.
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.
SH.UK free home testing
A free online sexual health clinic that posts STI and HIV test kits, condoms and more to Blackpool and Lancashire residents.
Manspace (Lancashire LGBT)
A free monthly online peer-support group from the county LGBTQ+ charity for gay, bi, trans and queer men and masc non-binary people.
Antidote (London Friend)
An LGBTQ+-run drug and alcohol service, and one of the UK's earliest to work with people affected by chemsex.
Read more about sexual health and PrEP and chemsex and drug support.
Not into the bars?
Plenty of gay men in Blackpool socialise away from the scene: the Electric Pink Voices choir, LGBTQ+ football with Blackpool FC's community trust, the monthly LGBTQ+ swim, Lytham Let Live's daytime meet-ups and Blackpool Allies. See LGBTQ+ groups.
A short history
- Before 1967: sex between men was a crime. What survives is mostly glimpses from the stage and the seafront. See Blackpool before 1967.
- 1979: The Flamingo opens opposite the station, the start of the modern scene. See the Flamingo and the Flying Handbag and Funny Girls story.
- 1980s onwards: the LGBTQ+ hotels fill the terraces of Lord Street and Dickson Road. See the rise of the LGBTQ+ hotels.
- 1994: Funny Girls opens.
- 2006: the first Blackpool Pride.
- 2024: the council backs the quarter officially. See the Be You programme.
The AIDS years hit Blackpool hard too; see HIV and AIDS in Blackpool.
Sources
Sexual and romantic orientation: more pages
LesbianMixed bars, women-friendly stays, the nearest lesbian socials, and the history of Lucy's and Kings.BisexualWelcoming venues, BiPhoria and other groups, health services and bi history at Blackpool Pride.PansexualWhat pansexual means, how it differs from bi, and welcoming places and groups.AsexualWhat asexual means, the ace spectrum, Pluto MCR, sociable things to do away from the bars, and support.AromanticWhat aromantic means, the aro spectrum, the nearest group, friendship-first socials and awareness week.QueerWhat queer means today, plus queer art, heritage, alternative drag and community in Blackpool.QuestioningGentle first steps, confidential helplines, youth groups and low-pressure places to start.CuriousWhat curious means, welcoming venues, men-only places, safer sex, consent and support.Every identityThe full list, the long acronyms and UK law.