A Bit of History on Alton Towers

Earls of Shrewsbury occupied the castle from 1412 when the Lady Ankarat de Verdun married Sir John Talbot.





Unfortunately I caught no ghosts



You can only imagine what this place must have looked like 100's of years ago







Another bit of knowledge, In 1939 World War II starts and the house is requisitioned as an officer cadet training camp.
The house and grounds remained under the control of the war office until 1951.




























The 15th Earl, Charles Talbot, was the guy that started the landscaping of the surrounding grounds and a very good job he did too.




Under the direction of the 15th Earl, Abrahams designed and built the Chinese Pagoda Fountain as an exact copy of the To Ho Pagoda in Canton. The fountain could throw water 90 feet in the air.



View from the cable car



The Conservatories were designed and built by Abrahams and are 300 feet in length and made of galvanised iron and plate glass.






I would love these in my garden with tropical plants and trees, they must have been amazing to look at.









The gardens have statues dotted around them and are amazing to look at, Ive never seen gardens so lovely and in a
big valley they just went on and on and kept giving us surprises.

















The gardens were first opened to the public in 1860 . However, towards the end of the century the fortunes of the Shrewsbury’s began to decline, resulting in the eventual sale of the house and remaining land in 1924 to a consortium of local business men.










A view from the cable car


This is a lovely cottage over looking the whole of the park area, the views were fantastic, what a dream to live in such a nice place.



The Shrewsbury family remained in residence until 1923, after a sometimes turbulent 700 year history. .

The 1970’s was where many changes were made and Alton Towers with its rides and lovely areas started to develop into what it is today.






In 1990 Alton Towers was acquired by the Tussauds Group, and through out the 90’s More investment and development was injected into
the park this is when they started introducing more rides such as the Runaway Mine Train, Haunted House, Energizer, and Ripsaw.
Major rides such as Nemesis (1994) and Oblivion (1998) were also installed during this time period, and the first Alton Towers Hotel
opened in March 1996







The rollercoaster (Oblivion) was that fast I missed it lol





Another failed photo I waited for Debbie and kate and when they appeared I couldn't see in the screen for the sun so took the
pic only to see I caught them at the bottom of the picture lol













One of the rare photos I got of the girls, they were well windswept lol, I hardly saw them all day as I was walking and they were playing







Im not really one for going to theme parks as I dont bother with the rides and me and my mate Trevor used to just stand and watch our
young daughters on the kids rides while the wives enjoyed themselves on the rollercoasters lol, but now with the kids grown up we can go
off on our own and explore, and this is a great place to explore. Would I go back, YES there is lots more to see and the park is very
well kept and clean. We have gone to Flamingoland for years and even camped there and its minging, Alton Towers beats it hands down.

Trevor taking the weight of his feet. My feet and legs were aching the next day.




The only big downside to the day for me was having to pay £6 to park my car on top of the entrance fee.
http://www.altontowers.com/

Alton Towers
Stoke-on-Trent,
Staffordshire
ST10 4DB,
UK



The annual passes are good value for money if you live close enough.



Hope this gives you a little idea of what to find at Alton Towers.

A brilliant report Daryn, like yourself I don't go on the rides and usually end up with backache walking around but if
everyone else enjoys it, it would be their day not mine

Great report Darren. I can't stand rollercoasters or the fair really. My daughter and OH love them, but it's not for me and I can't even bear to watch them on the rides. The most excitement I get is the teacups! I normally end up with my back to the rides so I don't stress about them falling out! Think it stems from the fact that I almost fell out of the pirate ship once!! I screamed that bad they stopped the ride to let me off. Not a good look and didn't do my street cred any favours. I'm only 4'10 and at 7stone I just don't feel safe on those rides.

Would much prefer your option, wandering around the grounds...or sitting somewhere sunny with a good book.

Great review with fantastic photo's mate.

Brilliant Daryn !

...and good that you had a dry ( if windy ) day. Didn't know that Mick had joined you though ? ( pic 13 )

So now you think that I am a Gargoyle Beeech,thank you very much. :n!b:

I've always called them ganglions !!!

A Gargoyle was a useful architectural embellishment to propel water away from a wall
Whereas a Ganglion was something you hit with a large book, which was why they were referred to as a "Bible Cyst"
so which is Aunty Mick?

Lovely to see the gardens. I have been many times but end up in the rides area as we always have a child or two with us. Usually they are reluctant nature admirers.

Great review and pics Daryn. I've been a few times and like you, prefer the gardens bit of it more than the rides.

DadsBarmy wrote:

A Gargoyle was a useful architectural embellishment to propel water away from a wall
Whereas a Ganglion was something you hit with a large book, which was why they were referred to as a "Bible Cyst"
so which is Aunty Mick?

HHmmmmmmmmmm...tough one Dads - but think the ganglion just wins...!!