Final answer:
Bryson contrasts the vacation town of Blackpool with grim industrial towns, focusing on the extreme pollution of smoke that characterizes the latter, showing how industrialization has taken a toll on certain English townscapes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bryson describes the town of Blackpool as a major vacation destination, contrasting sharply with the industrial urban environments such as the Old Town of Manchester and the fictional Coketown. Both of these locations are characterized by dire conditions, with Manchester being described as filthy, in ruins, and uninhabitable, and Coketown being shrouded in smoke that obscures the natural world and coats everything in soot. The prevailing idiosyncrasy of these towns is the overwhelming presence of industrial smoke, which is not only a literal but also a figurative blanket over the environment, signifying the industrial overtake of the landscape.