It stood proudly at the south west corner of the Winter Gardens, affording magnificent views of the Irish Sea and beyond and was a wonder of the Victorian Age.
Also known as the Giant Wheel and the Gigantic Wheel, its construction began in 1895 and eventually opened in 1896, two years after the Tower.
The 220ft high attraction was equipped with huge, 28ft long coaches, capable of carrying 30 passengers. To this day at least one carriage still remains, lovingly restored at a house in St Michael’s and another was once used as a shed in a Cleveleys garden.
Sadly the dismantling of the wheel began in 1928 because it was commercially unsustainable – it had grown too old and too slow for 1920s Blackpool.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach also had a Ferris Wheel – a twin one and the resort still retains the Big Wheel attraction on Central Pier. It remains one of the resort’s most iconic features.
The 220ft high attraction was equipped with huge, 28ft long coaches, capable of carrying 30 passengers. To this day at least one carriage still remains, lovingly restored at a house in St Michael’s and another was once used as a shed in a Cleveleys garden.
7. Blackpool's Big Wheels
A view over the rooftops looking down on the Winter Gardens and the Big Wheel
8. Blackpool's Big Wheels
The 220ft high attraction, alongside the Winter Gardens Pavilion, gave visitors a bird's eye view of the resort for 32 years.
9. Blackpool's Big Wheels
The ferris wheel was a familar sight at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
10. Blackpool's Big Wheels
One of the original cars from Blackpool's big wheel at Wild Boar Cottage in St Michael's
