'I rode Blackpool's Grand National rollercoaster 180 times last year'

BBC News

19-07-2025

After first watching his family ride Blackpool's historical Grand National rollercoaster on a childhood holiday when he was too young to ride it himself, Stephen Murphy said he became "fascinated" with the ride. Now aged 53, the lawyer and rollercoaster enthusiast from south London makes the 500-mile round trip to Blackpool's Pleasure Beach Resort several times a year.Mr Murphy said the ride, built in 1935, was his favourite rollercoaster in the world - he rode it 180 times last year, including 37 times in one day. "If the day isn't too busy, I would ride the ride, get off, run around, and sometimes get straight back into the same seat and just keep going," he said.
"I tend to stay in one of the hotels at [Pleasure Beach Resort]. I will spend the entirety of the opening hours in the park," he added.He said he travelled all over the world to ride rollercoasters as a "nice change" from his job as a specialist film and television solicitor. But he said the Grand National ride, with its history and Art Deco design, held a special place in his heart. "It's very stylish and classy right from the very beginning," Mr Murphy said. "I think it's interesting that you can't see really what you're letting yourself in for, so that makes it good fun because often you'll be riding with people who have no idea what they're about to see."
The Grand National is also the only remaining twin-track racing coaster in Europe which runs on a Mobius loop, meaning the trains switch sides as they race each other. "It's got all the basic constituents of what makes a really good rollercoaster - it's got the pace, it's got the speed, the fun," Mr Murphy said. "It's not the highest, fastest or the longest by any stretch of the imagination, but it sort of proves that you don't need any of that."
Mr Murphy said for thrill-seekers like himself, it was important to get the best possible seat on the ride. "To get the maximum negative G-force, when you get your tummy going up into your mouth, you want to be sitting at the back of the ride," he said. "That's where you get the most airtime and that, in some ways, is the most exciting place to be."
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