Covid Roller Coaster Adds To Blackpool's Decline By V?ronique DUPONT 03/16/21 AT 7:32 AM Its ghost train ride stands idle and the golden beach is deserted. For seaside resort Blackpool, the Covid roller coaster has dealt another hammer blow to one of England's most deprived towns. Windswept Blackpool, on England's northwest coast, was a thriving holiday destination before package holidays to sunnier climes took off in the 1980s. The pandemic has dealt a hammer blow to Britain's seaside resort of Blackpool Photo: AFP / PAUL ELLIS But even with 18 million visitors a year before the pandemic, it is a shadow of its former self.