Under a spell
With its fairy lights and treehouses, Alton Towers’ new forest village is a kind of magic
Take the kids down to the woods at Alton Towers today, and they’re sure of a big surprise – because behind the famous theme park they’ll find an Enchanted Village.
As theme park accommodation goes, this really is magic. The village is made up of woodland lodges and luxury treehouses dotted through a forest bedecked with fairy lights.
Myself, sister-in-law Clare and two-yearold niece Lily Mae, were away for a girlie weekend and from the minute we laid eyes on our home for the night we were completely spellbound. We were staying in a wooden treehouse built on stilts complete with a decked rope bridge.
There was even a round princess turret – my room, naturally! – plus three other bedrooms, sleeping up to eight people, each complete with twinkly-lighted woodland-themed beds and lovely views of the forest.
But while the styling was retro fairyland, the gadgets were bang up to date. There was a 50in plasma TV, a well-equipped kitchen and a sheltered decking area with our own private hot tub.
It wasn’t easy to drag ourselves away from our treehouse to go out for dinner. But when we got to the Enchanted Village’s quirky restaurant, The Crooked Spoon, we realised it wasn’t just our treehouse that was spellbinding. Our burgers came in red buns which looked just like the red mushrooms dotted around the village and we were told to keep an eye out for the fairy folk who like to hide in the village.
After an evening on our private deck with a few drinks, feeling very chilled, I curled up in my round room with the Enchanted Village story book that came in our welcome hamper.
The book told the story of two children and the adventures they had while staying in a treehouse just like ours.
After being lulled to sleep by the gentle noise of the breeze in the trees – you’d never know you were right next door to a theme park – I woke up ready for breakfast at The Crooked Spoon and the all-action thrills of Alton Towers. First stop was CBeebies Land where Lily Mae made a beeline for rides featuring characters from favourite TV shows like Postman Pat and In The Night Garden.
But she wasn’t the only one bursting with excitement. My night of sleeping in a princess turret, reading fairy tales and eating mushroom burgers had unleashed my inner child, just like the characters in the Enchanted Village story.
Now which ride should we try next?