Blackpool, 5mi/8km north of Lytham St Anne's, is the largest holiday resort in the North of England and is still expanding. The bustling town can accommodate over half a million visitors in the summer months at the height of the season. Entertainment for every taste is provided in profusion - golf, zoo, circus, dance halls, theaters, cinemas,
bathing pools (including the enormous "Splashland" complex), a promenade 7mi/11km long, and three piers, at which pleasure boats dock. Since 1889 the town's most famous landmark has been the Blackpool Tower, 519ft/158m high, situated on the beach, which also has an aquarium. The festive illuminations in autumn are a high point of the year for the resort. Other annual events which attract many visitors to Blackpool are the dance and music festivals and the summer agricultural show. Blackpool is also the venue for the annual conference of the Trade Union Congress.
Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, a favourite theme park for tourists, has the Pepsi Big Max One rollercoaster. Between 1994 and 1996 it was the fastest and tallest circuit rollercoaster in the world.