ALTON TOWERS
Staffordshire altontowers.com
Ask anyone to name a British theme park and chances are their first response will be Alton Towers. It is one of the UK’s most visited theme parks and one of the most popular in Europe, too.
Much of that popularity is down to the quality of the rides. Nemesis, Oblivion, Galactica,
Rita, and Th13teen are currently the major attractions and, if you’re a fan of terror-inducing, white-knuckle rides, then you’ll love them. There are some of us who prefer to keep our feet firmly on the ground, but the variety of attractions on offer at Alton Towers means there’s still plenty to do. In fact, I still insist the highlight of our visit was my basketball shot triumph. That reminds me… whatever happened to that giant orange monkey that I won?
All age groups are well catered for at Alton Towers.
The youngest children will love CBeebies Land and there are plenty of rides for older children, even if they’re not quite up to going on the scariest roller coasters.
At busy times – bank holidays and during school holidays especially – you’ll have to wait in lengthy queues so arriving as early as possible is highly recommended. And here’s where camping can give you a head start on other visitors. The Camping and Caravanning Club has an excellent site virtually at the front door of the theme park, meaning you can easily be at the gates bang on 10am for opening time. A good tip we always follow is to rush straight to the rides at the back of the park and work our way back towards the front. The theory is that you will get on the most popular rides before the crowds arrive then hit the less busy ones later, while everyone else is queing up for the star attractions in the afternoon sun.
The Waterpark attraction is also well worth a visit. You could easily spend a day here – and, in fact, on our last visit we did, taking advantage of the fact that we were camping nearby. There’s a host of high-speed water slides and flumes including the Master Blaster water coaster, which will send you hurtling around the waterpark at breakneck speed.
Alton Towers is in the heart of the Staffordshire countryside and the winding country roads leading to the park can quickly snarl up at peak times. That makes camping close to the park all the more appealing. And not only do you avoid the traffic jams but you can enjoy spectacular views from the campsite over the beautiful surrounding countryside.
Buying advance tickets online will be cheaper than the prices at the door – £38 instead of £65 for an adult ticket. But also keep an eye out in the supermarket for special offer vouchers on some products throughout the year. These can give you really good deals – including two for the price of one.