Blackpool Tower

Head for heights.

01 Blackpool tower, history.jpg

Hello,

How are you? Have you had a good week?

Today id like to share some images of a job on Blackpool Tower.

The above image is obviously not one of mine, but wanted to show how things have changed, and thank god that they have.

The guys in the past had little or no working at height protection.

02 Blackpool, Tower, Maaintenance, rope access, IRATA, climbing, Lee Ramsden, action, industiral, photographer.jpg

These days we use advanced techniques such as rope access, to access these hard to reach places safely.

03 Blackpool, Tower, Maaintenance, rope access, IRATA, climbing, Lee Ramsden, action, industiral, photographer.jpg
05 Blackpool, Tower, Maaintenance, rope access, IRATA, climbing, Lee Ramsden, action, industiral, photographer.jpg
06 Blackpool, Tower, Maaintenance, rope access, IRATA, climbing, Lee Ramsden, action, industiral, photographer.jpg

I hope that you have a good weekend.

Lee

View from Blackpool Tower.

01 Blackpool FC football ground Bloomfield road Tangerine army Lancashire Photograph by Lee Ramsden

Blackpool football club Bloomfield road.

Hi following on from my last post. I thought i would share some images taken from the top of Blackpool tower. 

02 The big one roller coaster Pleasure Beach Blackpool Lancashire Fylde Merlin Photograph by Lee Ramsden

Pleasure beach. 

03 Blackpool Winter Gardens Theatre 97 Church St FY1 1HL Lancashire photograph by Lee Ramsden

Winter Gardens Theatre.

04 Blackpool Funny Girls burlesque cabaret showbar North Shore Lancashire The Pink Leisure Basil Newby photograph by Lee Ramsden

Funny Girls burlesque cabaret showbar.

05 Blackpool Fylde Lancashire roof tops view from top of the Tower England abstract photography by Lee Ramsden

Roof tops.

06 Blackpool Central promenade Lancashire Ambulance service on response call photograph by Lee Ramsden

Lancashire Ambulance service.

07 Blackpool Fylde Lancashire taxi cab roof tops view from top of the Tower England abstract photography by Lee Ramsden

A towns taxi cab.

08 Blackpool Fylde Borough council Lancashire photograph by Lee Ramsden

Offices.

09 Blackpool Lytham Road Fylde B5262 Lancashire traffic roof tops view from top of the Tower England abstract photography by Lee Ramsden

Lytham road B5262.

Top of Blackpool Tower.

Blackpool Tower LED lighting dusk illuminations prom lights Landscape photographer Lee Ramsden

Have you ever wondered,  - how do they maintain the iconic lights on Blackpool Tower?

02 Wesley Berry Wez top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden

Well meet Wez Berry, the lighting engineer that looks after the famous Blackpool Tower and regularly abseils 518 ft down the iconic landmark, to ensure its computer-operated 225,000 LED bulbs are in working order.

03 Wesley Berry service lift to the top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden

The day starts early to catch the lift to the top. 

04 Wesley Berry Wez Blackpool Tower Lift changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden
05 Blackpool Tower Lift View photography by Lee Ramsden
06 Wez Berry at the top of Blackpool Tower Lancashire photography by Lee Ramsden

Wez's workplace has a view like no other. 

“You're your own boss up here, You can crack on and do your own work.”

The location is extremely weather dependent, with extreme winds and rain meaning it simply isn't safe to scale the Tower's dizzy heights. 

“If the weather's nice, we're on, and I'll work through weekends and bank holidays,” 

“The wind really does restrict us and you have to look at the forecast very carefully."

“You've got to come into work safe and go home safe – it's very much safety first and I always have a rope access supervisor in case anything happens to me up there."

"We work closely with CJIS-LTD who provide the highly trained rope access supervisors who manage the working at height, utilising IRATA techniques"

07 Wesley Berry Wez top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden
08 Wesley Berry Wez top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden
09 Wesley Berry Wez top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden

Wez -"we're working off 100 metre ropes. It doesn't scare me because whether its 20 feet or 500 feet there's no messing about and you've got to give it the same respect.”

Even when the lighting engineer is at home, he can see the Tower from his back window and he'll often get a call from work mates asking him to check on the lights.

“Plus everyone round here knows what I do, they love to criticise and tell me if they see a light out,”.

10 Highest Light fitting in Lancshire Fylde Borough council Lee Ramsden LED illuminations

The tallest light fitting in Lancashire. 

11 Wesley Berry Wez top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden

The top is a mecca for tourists, who flock to the terrifying glass floor known as the SkyWalk. Often, they will catch a glimpse of Wez hanging underneath.

13 Wesley Berry Wez top of Blackpool Tower changing the light bulbs IRATA rope access photography by Lee Ramsden

To illustrate just how high todays worksite was. 

For more information on how to conduct working at height safely please use the contacts page. 

If you are or interested in becoming a rope access technician or require additional training i can recommend this training venue Based in Blackpool. 

 

Thanks

Lee