Two British brothers have completed an astonishing 20,000 rides on The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which is impressive, slightly baffling, and probably not what the designers meant by customer loyalty.

In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look at the extraordinary roller coaster record set by twin brothers Mark and Colin Brown, who have spent years repeatedly riding one of Britain’s most famous attractions. The Big One opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1994 and was once the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. It rises to around 235 feet, reaches speeds of up to 85 miles per hour, and lasts roughly three minutes. Twenty thousand trips therefore amounts to about 1,000 hours actually sitting on the ride. That is more than 41 straight days of climbing, dropping, rattling and trying to look composed for the photograph.

The total distance travelled is equally absurd. With each circuit covering more than a mile, the brothers have effectively travelled over 20,000 miles while remaining in Lancashire. It is almost a journey around the world, only with the same gift shop at the end every time.

We discuss Blackpool Pleasure Beach, British eccentricity, roller coaster enthusiasts, unusual world records and the strange human ability to turn almost anything into a lifelong mission. Why do people become devoted to one ride, one football club, one railway line or one particular café table? Is this admirable persistence, magnificent obsession, or simply what happens when a hobby escapes adult supervision?

There is something rather cheerful about it. No scandal, no political collapse, no grim prediction. Just two brothers, one enormous steel roller coaster and a determination to keep going long after most sensible people would have bought an ice cream and gone home.

The Big One, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, roller coaster record, 20,000 rides, British theme parks, amusement park history and extreme hobbies. Strap in. Apparently once was nowhere near enough.z