5 Best Family Things to Do in Blackpool

Take a walk on the wild side and come face to face with some of the world’s most fearsome animals. Whether you’re looking for gentle giraffes, terrifying tigers, or awesome apes, Blackpool lays the entire animal kingdom at your feet. Watch as gorillas affectionately groom each other, tiger cubs wrestle boisterously, and squawking parrots zoom through the air in magnificent flashes of colour. 

This zoo is home to some of Africa’s most majestic species – but kids will love getting the chance to pet bearded goats and touch the woolly white coats of the petting zoo’s sheep, just as much.

You’ll either be conquering a fear, or ticking off a lifelong ambition, as you zip up your wet suit, and dip your toes into the shark infested waters of the Sea Life Centre. Hold your breath as streamlined sharks slalom through the water towards you, assessing you with their beady eyes. 

If you’d rather stay firmly on the safe side of the glass, you can enjoy the chaotic frenzy as rays thrash wildly during feeding time, before taking a closer look at the sea horses and jellyfish as they pulse hypnotically through the water.

Strap yourself in and hold on tight, as you’re rocketed up and down the vertical tower of the Ice Blast ride at 80 mph or are spooked by ghouls popping out beside the ghost train in Blackpool’s theme park. Just don’t try out the terrifying ‘Big One’ ride too soon after lunch… It rises above Blackpool like a shark’s fin, and you can hear the screams for miles around. 

Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s Big One was the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster when it first opened, and it’s drawn thrill seekers ever since. Keep your cool, as the train briefly halts at the crest, and you’ll enjoy a stunning view of the rippling sea below. Moments later, you’ll be scorching down the twisting descent, leaving your stomach far behind you.

As Blackpool’s indoor water park, Sandcastle Waterpark is the perfect place to cool off, whatever the weather. With steep slides and rubber ring rides, the Sandcastle will make a splash with kids of any age. 

Raft along indoor water roller coasters and lose your bearings as you torpedo through blacked-out tubes before being dumped into the Sandcastle’s frothy waters. With a spaghetti tangle of winding slides, warm wave pools, and gentle lazy rivers, there’s something for every kid – and adult – to love here.

After a busy day exploring the sights and sounds of Blackpool, you’ll all need a pit stop like Bella Italia to get your energy back. Practically every restaurant in Blackpool does tasty, child-friendly food, but Bella Italia is one of our favourites. You can’t go wrong with Italian, and Bella Italia offers a dedicated children's menu that even the fussiest of eaters will love. 

From fresh pizzas to saucy pastas, this is an ideal spot to eat – and is less than 5 minute’s hungry wandering from the Winter Gardens, and the Tower.