John Burke
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Blackpool Pleasure Beach at Night
Blackpool Pleasure Beach's famous Big One Roller Coaster makes a splendid landmark as you approach the park. Here it is seen from Clifton Drive, from just south of the Pleasure Beach.

Huge floodlights have been installed to shine upwards through the supports. Catching sight of a high flock of birds lit from underneath is awesome!
Near the south entrance of the park an outdoor ice skating rink has temporarily taken the place of the Tokado Express. This was a compact high speed ride on a more-or-less figure-of-eight track that cornered, rose and fell and generally bumped its riders about!

And to those who said I'd never get four hyphens in a single sentence... Nyaaar!
There are not too many places to view the Steeplechase ride, but these were taken from near the new go-kart track.
The Monorail ride opened in the mid 1970s and we took a ride on it, to get an elevated view of the park at night.

This is taken from the main Monorail Station opposite the Gold Mine ride, seen here as we waited for the train to pull out of the station. In the next car a dad-cum-uncle was sitting with five young girls, four very excited and waiting impatiently for the ride to start and the youngest, obviously tired, sitting very quietly all wide eyes and a picture of innocence and beauty.
As the train pulls out of the station it leaves an elevated part of the Pleasure Beach which in fact is a bridge over Watson Road. The southern half of the park used to be the quieter of the two halves but now has its share of larger rides. Here we can see the Avalanche coming towards the end of its zig-zag bobsleigh run.
Looking the other way, to our left, I got the chance to photograph the Space Invader.

Built at the height of popularity of the video game it was named after, the Space Invader is a dark ride (even during the day...) and houses a coaster ride. The Monorail provides probably the best viewpoint of this ride.

The Monorail is a pleasant ride, suitable for children of a young age and doesn't involve any steep or sudden drops and maintains a calm steady speed as it circles the park.
The addition of Ocean Boulevard, a row of shops along the front of the Pleasure Beach on the Promenade has, however, reduced the visibility of the sea front unless you crane your neck over the roof tops of the buildings.

The once eagerly-awaited brief glimpse of the interior of the Fun House is missed, although there was a glimpse inside the new Millenium dark ride currently being built (as the walls had yet to be built as I took these photos). This was taken as the train approached the end of the ride.
The Ghost Train despite having stood on this same spot for longer than I can remember (no unkind comments thank you!!!) still draws enough crowds for a queue.

I waited until the dragon was breathing smoke at the crowd but the long exposure makes it look a bit like a stain on the photo... Well, that's my excuse...
To the left of the Ghost Train is a staircase leading to a bar and cafe area and eventually to the Gold Mine ride.

Halfway up is a balcony from where these were taken.
One of the many stalls on the Pleasure Beach. Players roll balls up a perspex board and hope they will fall into a high-scoring hole to enable their camel to reach the winning post at the far left before the other players' camels.

Meanwhile the staff dress the part and a racecourse-style commentary keeps up the suspense. No.10 won this heat.

I of course was rooting for the blonde with the nice bottom. Ha ha ha! Politically Correct??? What's politics got to do with it?
Moving swiftly on < discreet cough! > we reach the Grand National, built in the 1930s and which, from the back seat, will give you a better ride than any other on the Pleasure Beach.

Two trains race each other along the double coaster track and the only place they split up is here, as they loop round to the chain-driven pull to the top of the first drop.
Making yet another appearance at the Pleasure Beach in 1998 are the high divers who make their spectacular leaps from the springboards into a circular pool just 26 feet in diameter and a mere 13 feet deep.

Here one of them has been set alight and stands having a quiet smoke to himself 50 feet above the pool.

Don't try this at home from the kitchen cupboards into the sink... Batman and I don't have any wings... We can't fly...
It was a relief when he gave in and dived. His mate who set him alight was miffed though and tossed the burning torch in after him...

Blackpool is not, of course, short of Amusement Arcades where you can find all sorts of coin-operated machinery to keep you amused. The Pleasure Beach has a number of arcades where those tweenies who are not tall enough to ride on the swings can pass the time. Above Watson Road, near to the entrance of the Log Flume is an Edwardian arcade with older machines than this one for those whose backs won't let them ride the swings or wrestle a simulator about.
The Big Dipper rushes past this viewpoint near the south entrance on its way back to its station after turning at the extreme southern end of the park.