Fleetwood's North Euston Hotel is part glorious folly, part historical curiosity, but mostly a reminder that those visionary Victorians did not get everything right.
Commissioned in 1837, designed by leading architect Decimus Burton and opened at enormous expense in 1841, the crescent-shaped edifice was meant to make an enforced stop on the journey from London to Scotland as glamorous as possible. No one thought the new railway system would be able to negotiate the Cumbrian hills, so the most feasible plan would be to catch a train from Euston to Lancashire, take a boat to Ardrossan and complete the journey by train from there.
Unfortunately, in 1850 the railway made it over Shap in 1850, effectively shunting the North Euston into a siding. There is still no urgent reason for anyone to travel to Fleetwood, though ironically, the hotel now comes close to providing one.
It would be unrealistic to expect the stately accommodation of 150 years ago, and some of the original luxury has inevitably been compromised by the need to cram in en suite bathrooms, television sets, trouser presses and the like, but the beds are cosy, the towels pristine, and the standards of comfort and cleanliness excellent.
We went on one of the wettest and windiest weekends of the year, and enjoyed the contrast between the warm welcome within and the weather doing its worst outside. We fell asleep at night to the sound of sand drifts scouring the window casements, and woke up in the morning to the Trumptonesque sight of men with wheelbarrows carting the beach back where it belonged.
You can catch a tram to Blackpool from Fleetwood, if that sort of thing tickles your fancy, or go north and explore Morecambe Bay and the Lakes. The most relaxing option by far is to stay put. The bar is featured in the Good Beer Guide, and its ambience and excellent range of Moorhouse's brews would put many a swankier hotel to shame. The restaurant is a pleasantly old-fashioned eating experience: squads of waiters in black and white uniforms, the whole tin of biscuits to go with the cheeseboard, and a maitre d' who looks positively disappointed if you fail to order anything flambé.
Despite its ostentatious origins, nothing about the North Euston is cutting edge any longer, but that is the essence of its charm. As charm is not exactly what the Fylde coast is famous for, Fleetwood could be on a winner at last.
· North Euston Hotel, Fleetwood, Lancashire (01253 876525) £87, including full English breakfast.
