Blackburn to get 50-metre big wheel
A 50-metre observation 'Big Wheel' is coming to Blackburn town centre after the success of a similar attraction in Darwen.
A 50-metre observation ‘Big Wheel’ is coming to Blackburn town centre after the success of a similar attraction in Darwen.
The giant Ferris Wheel – similar in height to 11 stacked double-decker buses and the largest transportable such device in the UK – will arrive in Cathedral Square next week.
Riders will be able to enjoy panoramic views right across the town and beyond for five weeks – from Saturday, May 3 until Sunday, June, taking in both May Bank Holidays, the VE Day commemorations and the school half-term.
It follows the success of a similar wheel in Darwen at the beginning of the year with residents and visitors flocking to enjoy a birds-eye view of the town and surrounding moors on the attraction operated by Bolton’s The Giant Wheel Company.
The wheel that’ll arrive in Blackburn – opposite Blackburn Railway Station and outside Blackburn Cathedral’s Checks and Greys Café and The Firepit restaurant – is the largest the company owns.
It’s been a popular attraction at the Trafford Centre, with the company also supplying wheels for the events such as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Isle of Wight Festival.
There are 36 gondolas available on the 50m wheel, each with space for six people with an adapted gondola with wheelchair access also available.
The giant wheel will be open from noon to 10pm Sunday to Friday and 11am to 10pm on Saturdays.
Cllr Quesir Mahmood, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s growth boss, said: “It’s fantastic that we’ll soon be welcoming a 50m observation wheel to Blackburn town centre – what a spectacle it’ll be!
“The Giant Wheel Company kindly offered a similar wheel to Darwen, and it proved to be hugely popular, so we jumped at the chance of now having a wheel in Blackburn town centre.
“The views from the top will be incredible – especially over Blackburn Cathedral – and there’s so much to be enjoying in the town centre too, everything from a spot of shopping, visits to the likes of our popular Museum and The Making Rooms and lots of places to eat and drink.
“With the two Bank Holidays, VE Day commemorations and the May half-term also coming up too, it’s the perfect time to come and enjoy the wheel and explore what the town centre has to offer, making a day or night of it.”
As it is bigger than the previous Darwen attraction, tickets will cost £8 for adulte, £6 for a child measuring under 1.4 metres with a discounted family ticket for two adults and two children costing £23.
As well as the wheel, organisers are also hoping to bring bungee trampolines too.
Evan de Koning from The Giant Wheel Company said: “Being a North West-based company, we are super proud to be able to present our flagship attraction in Blackburn.
“With fully enclosed gondolas, this is the largest transportable observation wheel in the UK.”