The kids are all fright

It’s the time of year when ghosts and ghouls take centre stage and Alton Towers has you covered for chills and thrills

round rota of rides are the real strength of Alton Towers.

From the truly magnificent Wicker Man to the infamous Smiler, the Staffordshire park has attractions to rival any other.

And with three on-site hotels, Woodland Lodges and Stargazing Pods, there’s a variety of accommodation to suit most budgets and age groups.

We stayed at the original Alton Towers Hotel, just a short walk and monorail ride away from the main park action.

The stunning atrium has a flying ship which has crash landed right in the middle of it and it’s the perfect wacky base camp for the weekend.

We stayed in a Moon Voyage family room, which has a Jules Verne design and includes an XBox at the kids’ bunk bed – total joy for the weans, total silence for mum and dad.

My two little zombies are 14 and 12 now, so they were chasing big thrills from the word go. And there’s plenty of that. The stunning Nemesis rollercoaster will throw you through a rocky subterranean thrill ride that takes the breath away.

Galactica puts you front ♦Austin stayed courtesy of Alton Towers. ♦Scare Maze tickets start from £8. Prebooked at altontowers.com/scarefest ♦Theme Park tickets available from £32 for an adult and £27.50 for a child. Booked at www.altontowers.com 5+ days prior to visit ♦Hotel stays start from just £130pp per night based on four sharing on a B&B basis and centre in a spectacular VR space flight while Oblivion drives you head first into a giant hole in the ground.

And that’s all before lunch. If you can keep it down.

Families with smaller children should not be put off by the big thrills reputation of Britain’s most famous theme park – there’s a mountain of stuff for teeny tots.

Splash Landings Hotel has its own water park, which has some stunning attractions of its own, most ♦ Flying from Edinburgh on January 30, three nights room-only at the 4* Royal Park Boutique, Budapest, from £169pp. ♦ Flying from Glasgow on February 17, four nights room-only at the 3* Pergamin Old Town Apartments, Krakow, from £239pp. ♦ Flying from Glasgow on March 19, three nights room-inly at the 4* Senator Barcelona Spa Hotel, Barcelona, from £235pp. ♦ (Cruise) Leaving from Dundee on June 14, 2020, for nine nights on the MS Magellan, cruising Hardangerfjord and visiting Eidfjord, Vik and cruising Sognefjord before visiting Flåm, Bergen, Lerwick, Kirkwall, Portree, Tobermory and Greenock, from £889pp. ♦ For these deals and more, visit www. barrheadtravel.co.uk or call 0141 222 2223. ♦ Flying from Glasgow on October 31, seven nights self-catering at the 3* Luna Holiday Complex, Mellieha Bay, Malta, from £299pp. ♦ Flying from Glasgow on November 1, seven nights all-inclusive at the 4* Pollensa Park & Spa, Puerto Pollensa, Majorca, from £469pp. ♦ (Adults only) Flying from Glasgow/ Edinburgh between November 21-30, seven nights all-inclusive at the 4* Levante Club Hotel & Spa, Benidorm, Costa Blanca, from £399pp. ♦ For these and other deals go to www. stewarttravel. co.uk or call 0800 091 2757. notably the Master Blaster – a cracking water rollercoaster. Meanwhile, CBeebies Land Hotel is a haven for any stressed out parents of toddlers looking for a place to keep the little ones occupied with characters from all their favourite shows. At a mere four-and-a-half hours drive from Glasgow, it’s pretty easy to get to for most Scots. Just throw your stuff in the car and put the foot down. But don’t forget the nappies... For kids and adults. service with a choice of signature cocktails (or mocktails), hot drinks, juices and water served in flight.

After your meals, relax with an upgraded entertainment system.

World Traveller Plus offers a personal flat screen and noisecancelling headphones for every passenger, as well as an on-demand service on most flights, letting you choose what you want, when you want it. Each seat has its own power supply, so you can use your own devices on board.

And from a practical standpoint, World class passengers are granted more luggage allowance.

You can take both a cabin bag and a laptop or handbag on board, plus two bags with you on board (double the allowance for most economy services). To book your flights to North America and the Caribbean (and add on accommodation or a cruise), call Barrhead Travel’s Worldwide Team on 0141 222 2223.