Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Blackpool (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Zoo, and Big One Roller Coaster. Also, be sure to include Steeplechase in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Blackpool (England).
Table of Contents
Blackpool Tower
Iconic tower with a seaside viewing area. Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is 518 feet tall and is the 125th-tallest freestanding tower in the world. Blackpool Tower is also the common name for the Tower Buildings, an entertainment complex in a red-brick three-storey block that comprises the tower, Tower Circus, the Tower Ballroom, and roof gardens, which was designated a Grade I listed building in 1973.[1]
Address: Blackpool Tower Bank Hey Street, FY1 4BJ Blackpool
Blackpool Zoo
Large zoo park with animal experiences. Blackpool Zoo is a 32-acre zoo, owned by Parques Reunidos and located in the sea-side resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It provides a home to over 1,350 animals from all over the world.[2]
Address: East Park Dr, FY3 8PP Blackpool
Big One Roller Coaster
Steel roller coaster opened in 1994. The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is a steel roller coaster located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. Designed by Ron Toomer and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the public on 28 May 1994 as the tallest and steepest roller coaster in the world. It held the record until July 1996, when Fujiyama opened at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan. The ride is currently the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom.[3]
Address: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, FY4 1EZ Blackpool
Steeplechase
Roller coaster in Blackpool, England. The Steeplechase is a three tracked racing roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, England. It is a custom design made by Arrow Dynamics. The ride was officially opened in 1977 by Grand National winner Red Rum, whose hoof print was also taken and is on display near the ride's exit. It is the only operating steeplechase roller coaster left in the world. The riders sit upon a horse-shaped vehicle which can seat one or two people in line. The ride has two chain lift hills and the track winds around part of the Big Dipper and underneath part of the Nickelodeon Streak. The station is located near the Big One in the south of the park.[4]
Address: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, FY4 1EZ Blackpool
Blue Flyer
Roller coaster in Blackpool, England. Blue Flyer is a Wooden roller coaster at Nickelodeon Land, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England. It was built in 1934. It is believed to have been built by Charlie Paige. It is a family coaster.
Blue Flyer operates with one train, which was built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. The train is made up of 5 cars, each car seats 4 people in 2 rows, each row seating 2 people, making for a total of 20 people in the train.
Blue Flyer is an ACE Coaster Classic.
Pleasure Beach Resort closed Beaver Creek's Children Park in Autumn 2010. Zipper Dipper was rethemed and was transformed into Blue Flyer with the opening of Nickelodeon Land on 4 May 2011.
The ride was designated as a Grade II listed building on 19 April 2017.[5]
Address: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, FY4 1EZ Blackpool
Nickelodeon Streak
Roller coaster in Blackpool, England. Nickelodeon Streak is a wooden out-and-back roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England. It was built in 1933 by Charles Paige and uses the lift hill and other parts of the former Velvet Coaster, which was removed in 1932. From 1933 to 2010 it was known simply as Roller Coaster however after Nickelodeon Land was announced the coaster was renamed and rethemed to Nickelodeon Streak. Now removed, a train from the Velvet Coaster used to be preserved on show in the station of Roller Coaster. It is currently the second tallest wooden coaster out of the four wooden coasters at Pleasure Beach Blackpool.
Nickelodeon Streak has 3 cars per train, seating 8 people per car; 24 people per train. Before 2006, the trains had no restraints, however the newer trains currently used on the ride, taken from the Big Dipper have lap-bars.
On 27 July 2010, Pleasure Beach Blackpool unveiled plans for the creation of Nickelodeon Land, to open in time for 2011 season. Roller Coaster has been "extensively re-themed" and now operates full-time as the "Nickelodeon Streak". As well as the major re-theme and modernisation, it has been repainted orange to fit the new Nickelodeon Land area, which will have 14 rides (9 new, 5 re-themed).[6]
Address: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, FY4 1EZ Blackpool
Revolution
Roller coaster in Blackpool, England. Revolution, formerly Irn Bru Revolution, is an Arrow Development shuttle roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. It was Europe's first fully looping roller coaster. The ride consists of two raised sections of track with a vertical loop in the centre. The train is launched off the first raised platform, into the loop, and up onto the second platform, where it repeats the process in reverse. As a result of the design, riders are required to climb a series of stairs to get to the loading station. Until the introduction of Infusion, it was the park's only looping coaster.
It is one of only three Arrow shuttle coasters in operation, the others being Diamond Back at Frontier City in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Sidewinder at Elitch Gardens Theme Park in Denver, Colorado.[7]
Address: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, FY4 1EZ Blackpool
Blackpool Town Hall
City or town hall in Blackpool, England. Blackpool Town Hall is a municipal building in Talbot Square, Blackpool, England. The town hall is the headquarters of Blackpool Council which is the main governing body for the wider Borough of Blackpool. It is a Grade II listed building.[8]
Address: Talbot Square, Blackpool
Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve
Lake in England. Marton Mere is a mere and Local Nature Reserve in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is located near to the Blackpool districts of Marton and Mereside and the village of Staining. It is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It supports various habitats such as open water, reed beds, grassland as well as pockets of woodland and scrub.
The mere is a glacial freshwater lake. Originally approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide, the lake was gradually drained throughout the 18th century to allow land to be reclaimed for agriculture. It was drained further when Main Dyke was cut around 1850.
The reserve is adjacent to Marton Mere Holiday Village.[9]
Address: West Park Drive, FY3 9HU Blackpool
Grand Theatre
Theatre in Blackpool, England. Blackpool Grand Theatre is a theatre in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Since 2006, it has also been known as the National Theatre of Variety. It is a Grade II* Listed Building.[10]
Address: Blackpool, 33 Church Street
Avalanche
Roller coaster in Blackpool, England. Avalanche is a steel bobsled roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, England. It is the first and, as of 2022, the only bobsled roller coaster in the United Kingdom. It was designed for the park by Mack of Germany in 1988.
The ride has three trains (only two trains can be operated at any given time) consisting of seven cars each. Each car can hold two riders for a total of 14 passengers per train.[11]
Address: Blackpool Pleasure Beach, FY4 1EZ Blackpool
Bloomfield Road
Stadium in Blackpool, England. Bloomfield Road is a single-tier football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two being Raikes Hall Gardens and the Athletic Grounds.
Largely unchanged since the 1960s, the stadium began a redevelopment phase in the early 2000s. A temporary East Stand was erected before the start of the 2010–11 season, the club's debut in the Premier League. It is still in place today. The three permanent stands are named the Stan Mortensen North Stand (denoted by the acronym "B.F.C." spelled out in white seats, the Jimmy Armfield South Stand (with the former player's last name spelled out in white seats) and the Sir Stanley Matthews West Stand (with one of the club's nicknames, "SEASIDERS", spelled out in white seats).
The record attendance at Bloomfield Road is 38,098, when Blackpool played Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 September 1955.
The stadium hosted three matches of the 2005 UEFA Women's Championship. It has also been the venue for the final of the Northern Rail Cup, a rugby league tournament.[12]
Address: Seasiders Way, FY1 6JJ Blackpool
St John's Church
Church in Blackpool, England. The parish church of Blackpool Saint John the Evangelist, or St John's Blackpool, is an Anglican church in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was completed in 1878 and is a Grade II listed building. A church was built on the site in 1821 and was replaced by the current building to accommodate a larger congregation. The church was designed by Garlick, Park and Sykes in the Early English style and has been restored and renovated in 1986 and from 2000 to 2006. St John's is known as the parish church of Blackpool, and is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn which is within the ecclesiastical province of York. It is in the Archdeaconry of Lancaster and the Deanery of Blackpool.[13]
Layton cemetery
Graveyard. Layton cemetery is a graveyard located at Talbot Road in Blackpool, Lancashire in England. It was opened in 1873 when Blackpool parish church was replete with burying. The site encompasses 30 acres, having been regularly expanded during its history. It is administered by Blackpool Council. A number of memorials in the cemetery are executed in Portland stone.
The cemetery was designed and laid out by Garlick, Park and Sykes, architects of Preston. Originally there were three mortuary chapels, Anglican, Catholic and Non-Conformist but only the Anglican remains. There was a lodge at the entrance which provided a residence and office for the custodian. The original part of the cemetery was surrounded a stone wall, topped with iron railings with a double iron gate at the entrance. These structures are extant. A World War I memorial is centrally situated.
In the 1930s, the cemetery was rapidly nearing capacity and therefore a new cemetery and crematorium were opened, known as Carleton Crematorium and Cemetery. Layton Cemetery is now replete but interments are permitted in existing graves.[14]
Lifeboat Monument
The Lifeboat Monument, St Annes, stands on South Promenade, St Annes, Fylde, Lancashire, England. It commemorates the death of 13 lifeboatmen from St Annes who were lost in the attempt to rescue the crew of the German barque Mexico that had been driven into a sandbank in a gale in December 1886. The lifeboat from Southport also lost 14 of its 16 man crew in the disaster. The monument depicts a lifeboatman looking out to sea and standing on a rock-like plinth. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.[15]
Sacred Heart Church
Catholic church in Blackpool, England. Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic church in the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England, on Talbot Road close to the town centre. It was the first Roman Catholic church built in Blackpool and has been designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage.[16]
Address: 17 Talbot Rd, FY1 1LB Blackpool
Stanley Park
Park in Blackpool, England. Stanley Park is a public park in the town of Blackpool on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England. It is the town's primary park and covers an area of approximately 104 hectares. The park was designed to include significant sporting provisions, along with formal gardens, a boating lake and woodland area. It was designed and built in the 1920s, under the eye of Thomas Mawson.
It is located in the Great Marton and Layton areas of the town. It is Grade II* listed and is on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.
The park's largest gardens feature a fountain built with Italian marble and a number of statues including a pair of Medici Lions. The Italian gardens are overlooked by a cafe, designed by Mawson and built in a traditional Art Deco style, and include steps down to the boating lake. Surrounding the boating lake is a woodland area, including a protected area for wildlife. On one side of the lake is an amphitheatre surrounding a bandstand, also designed by Mawson.
Towards the centre of the park there is a crossroads with a clock tower, dedicated to William Cocker. It is close to the large children's play area, the tennis courts, all-weather pitches, BMX track, skate park and general grassy areas. Within the Stanley Park grounds stands a 5000-seat cricket ground, an 18-hole golf course designed by Alister MacKenzie, a sports centre, athletics ground and a model village attraction.[17]
Address: Stanley Park, Blackpool
Kincraig Lake Ecological Reserve
Kincraig Lake Ecological Reserve is a wildlife reserve located in Bispham in Blackpool on the Fylde coast, Lancashire, England. It is owned by Blackpool Council.[18]
Address: 3 Kincraig Rd, Blackpool
Central Pier
Tourist attraction in Blackpool, United Kingdom. Central Pier is one of three piers in the town of Blackpool, England, and was built in 1868.[19]
Blackpool High Tide Organ
Sculpture created in 2002. The High Tide Organ was a tidal organ 15 metres tall constructed in 2002 as part of "The Great Promenade Show" series of sculptures situated along Blackpool's New Promenade in the UK. It was removed in early 2022. The artwork, described as a "musical manifestation of the sea", is one of a few examples of a tidal organ; others include the San Francisco Wave Organ and the Sea Organ in Croatia.[20]
Address: South Shore Promenade, Blackpool