Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the largest theme park in the UK, Alton Towers, it's just over an hour from where I live, so was surprised just how close it actually is.
The first part of the drive was down the M1, then we came off there and the longer part is on lovely roads through the Derbyshire Dales and Staffordshire.
My girlfriend told me that I couldn't take my camera, but on this occasion, I listened lol, as I knew what it was like there and that on some rides you can get rather wet.
The way we drove in to Alton Towers was lovely, and other than the road signs, you wouldn't have thought that there was the theme park there, very secluded and very big when once you are in there.
Be aware though, as you can imagine, it can get very busy, but the queues are dealt with very quickly, so you don't seem to be too long. Also, you ticket doesn't include the price of parking, which costs an additional £6.00 for the day, which isn't bad, considering that if you go to York, it can cost you double that, depending where you park.
Another thing that surprised me and I thought was brilliant was that there is a fully fledged aquarium there, yes it has lots of fish I don't know the name of, but also has some sharks in there, it's great and I could have spent all day in there.
The second ride we went on was the rapids, this is a great little ride, but I was expecting to get much wetter than I actually did, there was the odd splash, but you definitely don't need to buy one of the £6 ponchos they sell.
After having a good walk around, we decided to go on the cable cars...
I'd not been on a cable car since I was a kid, which were the ones at Skegness, this was way back in the 80's, I wonder how many other people remember these?
Looking out the window of the cablecar, you get a fantastic view of the gardens, and it's so peaceful, the sound of music and people talking just disappear, but as you approach the station, it starts to get louder and louder, the gardens are beautiful and worth an explore just on their own.
A bit further of a walk round, we discovered the castle, certainly something I wanted to get inside and have a look, this was built in the 1800's and is (I think), a grade 1 listed building and scheduled monument.
Looking at the building, I noticed that lots of the windows were smashed, and realised we couldn't get in, although I wish I could have for an abandoned building explore, I would have loved this more than the rides lol.
I have to admit, I really enjoyed this visit, even though it was busy, it didn't feel too full as there's plenty of places to get away from the crowds.
If you are in the area definitely worth a visit.