Marlene Dietrich

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is celebrating the centenary of its Big Dipper ride.

One of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in The World , it opened on 23 August 1923.

Andy Hygate, Head of Operations at Blackpool Pleasure Beach , described the as " very special".

" Amusement parks change and adapt but you hold on to those things that are magical and special, " He Said . " It's the history that's attached to it. "

Mr Hygate explained: " A wooden rollercoaster is very different ride to a steel coaster. You'll get a different ride depending on what The Weather is like. "

Managing Director Amanda Thompson added: " You hear The Chain pulling you up, you hear everything cranking and The Wood slightly talking to you. "

Paul Heany, of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain , agreed the Big Dipper was " full of Character - it's got A Life of its own".

The Big Dipper is The Second oldest rollercoaster still in use in Great Britain .

" When it [The Big Dipper ] was first built there was nothing like it, " Mr Heany said. " Margate's Scenic Railway was The First , but that was more sedate".

Blackpool first established itself as an entertainment destination after Londoner William George Bean Set Up Hotchkiss Bicycle Railroad on The Sand dunes at South Shore in 1896.

Inspired by his Time In New York 's Coney Island , Mr Bean started to build his tourism empire.

By 1923, Blackpool Pleasure Beach was an established amusement park.

After the Big Dipper was expanded in 1934, Hollywood movie star Marlene Dietrich went for a ride.

Unfortunately she lost a pearl and gold earring in The Process .

The German-born actress and singer later wrote to the amusement park to ask staff to search for it.

The earring was thought lost forever until 70 years later when dredging a lake as part of construction work for a new ride.

" We have compared it to pictures taken at The Time of her visit and it certainly looks like one of hers, " said a Pleasure Beach spokeswoman.

Twenty years ago, 32 thrill-seekers - with an average Age Of 75 - rode on the Big Dipper to break the World Record for the oldest rollercoaster riders.

Marking National Grandparents Day, the pensioners - Most of whom lived in Blackpool - had a combined Age Of 2,408.

Source of news: bbc.com