Roll up! Roll up! It’s Blackpool’s Great Promenade Show.

There’s glam rocks and glitter balls, light shows and music actually played by the sea!

If this all sounds like another load of over-the-top entertainment typical of Britain’s most full-on seaside resort, then it is.

But my, is it a lot more tasteful than I’d expected.

This being Blackpool, the mirrorball is the biggest in the world. By day its 47,000 tiles throw a cascade of diamond patterns across the promenade.

By night it’s illuminated with a colour-changing light show. Pretty dazzling stuff – and this is just the start.

Daughter Sophie ran excitedly from one amazing sculpture to the next along the revamped prom.

It’s the perfect – and free – way to ease in to Blackpool mode, for I’m the last person you would think would visit here.

You see, I’ve succumbed to persuasion from a fairground-loving 13-year-old.

My favourite rides at the Pleasure Beach are the oldest. The Flying Machines (1904), the Big Dipper (1923) and the Derby Racer (1959). As soon as the rides stop I’m in the queue again.

One of the biggest thrills is the birds’ eye view through the glass floor of the SkyWalk at The Blackpool Tower Eye.

Your brain is telling you that there’s nothing between you and the pavement 158 metres below. I imagined that I’d be yearning to retreat to the mountains of the Lake District, clearly visible from the top of the tower, yet it’s not hard to find quieter spots.

The most relaxing is in The Blackpool Tower itself. In the opulent ballroom (free to enter) twinkle-toed couples twirl and glide.

It’s particularly relaxing after the circus, where you can see one astounding acrobatic feat after another.

In Stanley Park, whilst Sophie clambered over the adventure playground (very highly Sophie-rated!), I stepped inside the Art Deco café. Outside it’s very plain, so I was stunned by the 1930s interior.

At Blackpool Zoo former circus elephant Marcella was having a pedicure. The other mammoth attraction here is Darwin, the giant tortoise. He’s more like a giant boulder.

Our visit to Amazonia was very amusing. We had been warned that the animals were free roaming and to hide food or loose items.

Too late however I realise there were tissues in the outside pockets of my rucksack and in a blink some squirrel monkeys filched them.

On the prom again we were shielded by shelters which swivelled with the wind. For more than a mile, laughing children jumped from one unusual discovery to the next.

There’s the High Tide Organ and a fascinating artwork powered by the wind, which determines the colours and patterns of pulsating lights.

But my biggest discovery is that Blackpool is so easy going; from good parking to family cycle hire and plenty of free fun.

Before we left we chuckled our way across the Comedy Carpet opposite the tower.

There you could spend hours reading okes from Britain’s most popular entertainers.

ESSENTIALS The world-famous Blackpool Illuminations stretch almost six miles. They are lit up until November 10 www.blackpool-illuminations.net www.visitblackpool.com www.blackpoolpleasurebeach.com