I think Breck Road in Poulton has become a party strip to rival the likes of Benidorm

OK - I’ll level with you. I’m now almost middle aged!

In my late teens and 20s I was the woman about town and my town was Poulton-le-Fylde.

I knew everyone or so it seemed and I worked in the Town Hall pub. When I got with my now husband who worked in The Bull we always seemed to be in and around Poulton having a good time and bumping into people we knew.

Nowadays life is a little bit more sedate - as well as being the editor of the Blackpool Gazette and Lancashire Post, we have three children under four and by the time a Saturday evening comes around all I’m fit for is a glass of vino in front of the tele.

But this week I got my glad rags on and headed back to my old haunts. I assumed that all my drinking buddies of old would still be propping up our favourite bars, but as I entered The Elk I was disappointed not to know a soul.

I mean the pub itself hadn’t changed but the clientele seemed to have. Gone were the regulars and instead a crowd of new faces filled the space instead.

As we grabbed a wine and headed into the beer garden to enjoy the early evening sun, again I was amazed not to recognise anyone. This is a town where I have lived for nearly all of my 39 years.

Surely, not everyone I know has stopped going out?

Putting it down to the venue, we headed to the Thai Mews for something to eat. It was pleasant enough but completely unremarkable.

Again the quiet setting boasted only faces I didn’t recognise.

We then made our way to the Breck Road. What was once a street filled with cafes and shops now can only be described as a bar rat run that rivals the strip in Benidorm.

Youngsters spill out of the bars onto the pavements and the narrow road.

I hear you - you are just getting old Vanessa! You did the same when you were young!

We then headed to Cavo - a new bar I’m told that has a lovely beer garden. The bar was packed to the rafters. We waited for what seemed like forever for a drink and then paid £19 for two Porn Star Martini cocktails (spoiler alert they weren’t worth the 20 minute wait and expensive price tag).

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Having literally nowhere to stand indoors we headed outside. But before we did I had a good look around - this venue definitely had a more mixed clientele. There were some younger souls but there were definitely some older folk enjoying the tunes being belted out by the resident singer. Again I didn’t recognise anyone.

We finally decided to call it a day and head to the next bar on our whistle-stop tour. This time we ended up in FY6. This is the old Indian restaurant Saffron turned into a bar. They also had a resident singer but the bar was much quieter than elsewhere.

From here we headed back towards The Cube. We were shocked that at 11pm there was hardly a soul in the place. This is not surprising as every one of its windows is smashed and concerns have been raised about what is going after it seems to be the target of vandals and arsonists on at least six occasions.

Deciding the night was still young we headed over to The Bull. This was always my favourite nightspot and the place I met my lovely husband 20 years ago. It was fab to see the place packed to the rafters the way it always had been. We headed outside to watch the Tyson Fury fight and enjoy the warm night.

Despite the facelift, the new TVs and the huts in the beer garden, the pub hasn’t changed. The atmosphere was charged but it remains a haunt of the youngsters.

I didn’t necessarily feel old there but the fight to get to the toilet and being pushed out of the way by an older member of staff - who could have quite possibly been the landlord, for no reason at all - probably makes this a venue I won’t be returning to soon.

From here with time getting on we decided to head back to the ‘strip’. People were spilling out of the pubs and all heading in the same direction. The Cube had started to get a few people through the door so we headed in for one.

It hadn’t changed the same mix of young and old with a little bit of crazy mixed in!

Our final stop before facing the walk home was Marvins. The sweet little Northern Soul venue that is a haven for young and old. Things were good until the barman accidentally spilled a drink down me. But I couldn’t stay mad for long as his apology came with a free drink.

So, would I say Poulton has changed?

Yes. It's definitely rougher around the edges. There are more people heading into the town centre but that is unsurprising when there has been so many new homes built in recent years. These people have to go somewhere.

It has lost its charm of being a small town - where everyone knows everyone. It's more anonymous.

Bring back The Hub and the Residency I say - now that would tempt me out more regularly.

But what I learnt more than anything is that - I’m not as young as I used to be.

Life has moved on and so has Poulton.

To all the ladies and gents about town, enjoy your time! I think I’ll keep hold of my memories for now.