Marton Mere

Pleasure Beach Resort, long known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park on Blackpool's South Shore. It was founded in 1896 and sits right along the promenade. Rollercoasters are the main draw, with ten to ride. The Big One was once the tallest and steepest in the world, and is still the longest in Europe.

Tip: Check the official calendar for opening days and times before you go, and book eTickets online ahead of your visit.

Blackpool Zoo is a 32-acre zoo set beside Stanley Park, about two miles inland from the Golden Mile. It cares for over 1,000 animals from around the world, and opened in 1972 on the site of the old Stanley Park Aerodrome.

Tip: Tickets can be bought in advance online. Follow the brown elephant signs if driving, and use sat nav postcode FY3 8PP.

Blackpool Tower opened in 1894 and was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It stands 518 feet tall, and the Tower Buildings around its base are Grade I listed. The Tower Top offers views across the North West of England, a 4D cinema experience and the SkyWalk glass viewing platform, plus a bar.

Tip: Pre-book online to guarantee entry. The Tower Top is weather permitting, and combined tickets for two attractions save money.

Gulliver's World is a theme park in Warrington, loosely based on the world of Lilliput from Gulliver's Travels. It is split into themed areas including Western World, Safari Kingdom, Land of Oz, Smuggler's Wharf and Lost World. Rides such as The Antelope, Desperado Drop and Apache Falls sit alongside play areas, both indoors and outdoors, designed for children between 2 and 13.

Tip: The website says booking tickets early can save money, so check online before you go.

The Big One is a steel hypercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, designed by Ron Toomer and built by Arrow Dynamics. When it opened in 1994 it was the tallest roller coaster in the world, and it still stands 65 metres high with a track over a mile long.

Tip: Watch for the height markers on the lift hill, and smile for the on-ride photo in the tunnel near the end.

Lytham Hall is an 18th-century Georgian country house, about a mile from the centre of Lytham, and it is Grade I listed. The website calls it the finest Georgian house in Lancashire. It was designed by John Carr of York and was the ancestral home of the Clifton family for four centuries. Parts of the earlier Jacobean house from 1606 still survive around the courtyard.

Ribble Steam Railway is a standard gauge preserved railway running along Preston Docks. It opened to the public in 2005 and is home to one of the largest collections of locomotives in the United Kingdom, much of it moved from the old Southport Railway Museum.

Tip: Check the railway's website before you go to see which days trains run, as special events need booking in advance.

Grand National is a wooden roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and it is Grade II listed. It is one of only two surviving wooden coasters with a Möbius loop layout, and the only surviving dual-tracked coaster in England where two cars race against one another.