A homeowner who erected a 25ft replica of the Blackpool Tower replica in his back garden has opened his property up as airbnb with views of stunning structure. Holidaymakers can now stay in the three-bedroom annex of Doug Smith's house near the seaside resort, which he has dubbed Tower Annex View, for just £120 a night.
It sleeps four people and even has a pool where guests can relax in the shadow of a scaled-down version of the landmark, which can be seen for miles around. Guests can also enjoy a pint in Doug's converted wooden shed which the tower sits on after he converted it into a Irish-themed pub, featuring a bar and a fruit machine.
Doug Smith, 63, spent four years perfecting his award-winning outhouse and boozer, dubbed ‘O'Smithers’, which measures 24 feet by 24 feet and fits in 35 seated revellers. He said: “The pub is still the pub and going strong. But we’ve decided to turn our three-room annex into an Airbnb.
“It’s a large bedroom, with a very large lounge and good-sized bedroom and decking outside. And the pub is on the guest’s doorstep.”
Doug originally built his annex for his paraplegic father, who passed away 10 years ago, to give him some independence. The property can sleep up to four people – with a “king size oak framed bed” in one room and a “fold-out” double bed in the sitting room.
The kitchen area features two ceramic hobs, a fridge and a combination microwave oven and gril, along with a toaster and kettle. And guests can also gaze at Doug’s mini-Blackpool tower from the comfort of the decking at the front of the annex.
The real Blackpool Tower, which was built in 1894, stands at 518ft-tall after being designed around the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Doug said about the project: "It’s one of those things that never gets finished.
"We’re always adding to it, and we can get 34 people in it so far. Everybody loves it and can’t believe how authentic it is - it definitely has got the wow factor."
Doug’s outhouse, won the ‘Pub/Entertainment’ category in the Shed of the Year competition in 2018. Speaking at the time, the dad-of-two said he was over the moon with the award.
He said then: "I didn't build it for getting awards and have never done it for the fame game - but what is nice is for it to be to be recognised is fantastic. I’m chuffed."
The large replica of the world-famous Blackpool tower was originally constructed during the Second World War. It was built as a small welding project for trainees and was bought by the Blackpool Tourist department in the 70 and 80s.
The iconic metal tower was taken to holiday trade shows and to Cornwall - and left there for a decade. It then ended up on the scrapheap after it became orange with rust in 2013.
But Doug, who lives with his wife Caroline, refurbished the old tower which he then restored before fixing it to the top of his shed after starting the project two years ago. Doug said: "It was right rust bucket when I got it off a guy in Preston."
The Blackpool tower holds a special place in Doug's heart because he worked on the Promenade for years. He said he knew when he started his shed project it would be "the perfect centrepiece".
Retired sales manager Doug started the build following a bet with a friend in 2009 – where they challenged each other to see who could build the best garden bar. But after he won the award, Doug said the police and licencing department had told him that he could only keep his pub open all year round by paying a hefty fee.
He said: “We did get a visit from the police and the licencing department. They were absolutely stunned by how good the pub was and were very complimentary.
“But they said as soon as you have a standard licence, you have to pay more for Sky TV, so we just got a licence letting us open 15 times a year. We have charity dos and special day events.”
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