A gay naturist hotel is set to open in Blackpool – and it has the most excellent name we’ve heard in some time.
Designed exclusively for gay men, the new club and hotel will move into Blackpool’s former Graydon Hotel on Banks Street and will be known as Welhorney’s. Yes, really.
An application has been submitted to Blackpool Council by Darren Yeomans, who has worked in the adult industry for over 20 years and plans to invest thousands into the new project.
He and his partner, joint applicant Paul Richardson, intend to transform the seaside hotel into a haven for gay naturalists where they can roam freely, “mix in a gay environment with other like-minded people and just chill.”
Their application to Blackpool council for Welhorney’s shows a request for a 24-hour alcohol licence, as well as plans to install a small 50-capacity club that will be accessible to hotel guests and private members.
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The naturist club will be kept inside the hotel, with rooms screened off and hedges veiling windows outside to ensure further privacy. Applicants said it will likely open until 2am, and ‘mainly’ at weekends.
Dressing gowns will be stationed at exits for guests wanting to go outside for a smoke or for use in the case of an emergency exit, such as a fire.
Some residents have raised concerns about the new development, voicing fears the name was ‘inappropriate’ and that it could ‘lower the tone’ of the area.
One objector said in written evidence: “Welhorney’s has been described as a ‘naughty naked night club’ which will be open to the public.”
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However, when speaking to a licensing hearing, Darren Yeomans contested this as he told council bosses: “I have worked in the adult industry for 20 years, but this is a new project which I am investing thousands of pounds into.
“The council know what we want to do, which is to have a naturist hotel using our public areas. The bedrooms are the private area, and consensual sex takes place in every hotel.”
A decision on the application is due to be made by Blackpool council in the coming weeks.
Featured image – Welhorney’s
Travel & Tourism
The beautiful Lake District bluebells display that’s being ‘loved to death’
Daisy Jackson
People are beginning to flock back to the Lake District for one of the season’s most beautiful spectacles – the arrival of the bluebells.
These pretty flowers are beginning to blanket parts of the national park in blue and purple blooms.
They’re incredibly rare flowers with around than half of the world’s bluebells found here in the UK, and can take around five to seven years to develop from seed to flower.
Which is why it’s actually against the law to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy bluebells.
The National Trust has also again stressed that people should resist the urge to step into the fields of bluebells – once they’re trampled, they can take years to recover.
One particular hotspot to see these incredible flowers is Rannerdale Knotts in the Lake District, where thousands of these wildflowers pop up between late April and mid-May.
While most bluebells flower in woodland areas, this particular patch covers open fellside – they bloom a bit later than other areas in the UK and mid-May is the perfect time to see them in full bloom.
Rannerdale Knotts is a short distance from the village of Buttermere, and the bluebell field can be accessed by a gentle walk from Buttermere National Trust car park.
However, these flowers are at risk of being ‘loved to death’, the National Trust has warned.
They say: “Rannerdale’s bluebells are renowned as a natural wonder, beloved of visitors and photographers; however, they are being ‘loved to death’.
“Once the plants are damaged by trampling they can’t photosynthesise enough energy and it can take them years to recover. Over the last 5 years, nearly 25% of the bluebells have been lost.
“To save the bluebells, and access to them, the National Trust are asking visitors to fight the urge to get in amongst the flowers and just simply stick to the path. Only by protecting them today can we ensure everyone has a chance to enjoy this special spring display in the future.”
Several locals have echoed this on social media, with one person saying: “As a local we love to share our landscape with visitors but please remember to maintain its natural beauty. So many people trample on them to get the perfect insta shot.”
Green light given for new train station in Greater Manchester town without one for 60 years
Emily Sergeant
The green light has been given to build a new train station in a Greater Manchester town that’s been without one for 60 years.
It’s been a whopping six decades, but the residents of Golborne will soon be able to hop on a train out of there, and that’s because a planning application to connect the Greater Manchester town, in the Wigan borough, that was submitted back in November of last year has been approved by Wigan Council.
This means connectivity is finally one step closer to becoming reality.
Plans to deliver a new £32m train station in Golborne have reached a milestone moment. 🚅@WiganCouncil has given the green light to the planning application for the station and #TfGM have appointed a local company to design it.
In case you didn’t know, Golborne currently has no direct bus, train, or tram services to Manchester, while the wider area is the largest and most-populous area in Greater Manchester not connected to the rail network.
The application includes plans for a new accessible two-platform rail station, including step-free access throughout with a footbridge across the tracks and lifts to both platforms, a new hourly service between Wigan and Manchester Victoria, and onwards to Stalybridge, an improved town centre car park, and also new walking and cycling links to the town centre.
According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the Golborne station scheme forms part of a wider ambition to bring eight commuter lines into the Bee Network by 2028 – of which ‘significant investment’ has been put into.
A CGI image showing an aerial view of the proposed Golborne train station / Credit: TfGM
The planning approval milestone will also help to boost access to jobs and opportunities for people both in the town and in the wider Wigan borough.
Now that plans have been approved, this means TfGM, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Wigan Council, working with Government, will now develop a full business case and detailed design throughout this year.
To deliver this work, TfGM has appointed Golborne-based engineering firm Murphy to develop the final station designs.
Subject to approval from the Government, work to make the Golborne station vision finally become a reality will begin in 2026, and it’s hoped that the first trains will stop there in 2027.
Georgina Pellant -
24th August 2023 
