Alton, Staffordshire

Alton Castle is a Gothic-revival castle, on a hill above the Churnet Valley, in the village of Alton, Staffordshire, England. The site has been fortified in wood since Saxon times, with a stone castle dating from the 12th century. The current castle was constructed in the mid-19th century by John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, of nearby Alton Towers. Since 1967 the castle has been designated a Grade I listed building. It is also a scheduled monument.

John Talbot, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, 16th Earl of Waterford (18 March 1791 – 9 November 1852) was a British peer and aristocrat. Sometimes known as "Good Earl John", he has been described as "the most prominent British Catholic of his day", although he was the last Earl of Shrewsbury to follow the Catholic faith. John was also Lord High Steward of Ireland, an office the Earls of Shrewsbury have held since 1446.

Corkscrew was a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers theme park, near Alton in the English shire county of Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Corkscrew was manufactured for Alton Towers by Dutch company Vekoma, engineered by Werner Stengel of German Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH (Ingenieur Büro Stengel). The coaster was located in the Ug Land area, formerly called Talbot Centre. It was the theme park's oldest ride and considered one of the greatest factor in promoting the new theme park to the British public. It was the first double-inverting coaster in the UK and Europe, and was well received publicly in the 1980s.

Thirteen (officially stylised as TH13TEEN) is a steel roller coaster/ Haunted attraction/ Drop tower at Alton Towers in England. The ride was constructed by Intamin and opened on 20 March 2010. It is the world's first vertical freefall drop roller coaster, on which the track and train freefall approximately five metres in darkness. The ride replaced and is built on the former site of the Corkscrew, which resided at Alton Towers for 28 years between 1980 and 2008.

Rita, formerly known as Rita: Queen of Speed, is a launched roller coaster located in the Dark Forest section of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire Moorlands, England. Designed by Intamin, the Accelerator Coaster model opened to the public on 1 April 2005. It features an acceleration from 0 to 98.3 km/h (61.1 mph) in 2.5 seconds. The ride is loosely-themed to a drag racing concept, which partly changed when the section of the park transformed from "Ug Land" into the "Dark Forest" in 2010, when the ride TH13TEEN was added into that section. It is now themed as an abandoned drag racer that is used as the escape cart to escape the Dark Forest. In 2006, a similar launched roller coaster opened at Thorpe Park, called Stealth. It is also manufactured by Intamin and is faster than Rita, reaching speeds at 80 mph (130 km/h). The ride was temporarily renamed "Camilla - Queen of Speed" on 9 April 2005 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles. This simply involved banner signage to notify guests of the name change.

Alton railway station is a former railway station in Staffordshire. Opened in 1849 by the North Staffordshire Railway and called Alton, the station was part of the Churnet Valley line and served the village of Alton and the country estate at Alton Towers. In 1954, the station was renamed Alton Towers. After being closed in 1965, the station site was purchased by Staffordshire County Council in 1969 to curtail persistent vandalism of the station building, and in 1979 was sold to the Landmark Trust, who renamed the site to Alton Station and converted the former station buildings into holiday accommodation.

Twirling Toadstool (previously known as Wave Swinger and Ug Swinger) was a ride at the British theme park Alton Towers. The ride was made up of 48 hanging seats suspended by chains. When the ride began, the chairs were lifted several metres off the ground, then they began to rotate. Once the chairs had been lifted to a certain height, and were rotating fast enough, the chairs were banked as the ride tilted. The ride did not reopen for the 2017 season and was advertised as being closed for refurbishment. However, this never happened and the ride remained in its location and deteriorated over the next 2 years. As of February 2019, it was removed from Alton Towers website confirming it will not return.

The Cuckoo Cars Driving School (originally opened as Peugeot 207 Driving School) is a ride at Alton Towers for young children. It is styled as a mock driving institution where young children learn how to drive small cars. Riders are allowed to drive around a miniature course, where they are overseen by marshals. The track is mainly built and themed around the area, Cloud Cuckoo Land. It is decorated with colourful statues and quirky scenery.

Hex – The Legend of the Towers is a walkthrough dark ride experience at Alton Towers. The ride is based on an interpretation of the local legend of the Chained Oak Tree and is set within the restored ruins of the Towers themselves. It is narrated by the actor Jim Carter.

Farley is a hamlet and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands district, in the English county of Staffordshire. It is near to the villages of Alton and Oakamoor. Alton Towers theme park is within the parish boundary. To the west of the hamlet stands the privately owned 17th century Farley Hall, which has been both a youth hostel and the residence of Anthony Bamford, Managing Director of JCB.

Alton Towers Resort (UK: OL-tən) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, mini golf and hotel complex. In 2021, it ranked first for attendance among amusement parks in the UK, with an estimated 1.8 million visitors. Originally a private estate of the Earls of Shrewsbury, Alton Towers' grounds were opened to the public in 1860 to raise funds. In the 1970s a few rides were added and some of the themed areas were developed. Inspired by Disneyland, it was transformed into a theme park in 1980 with the installation of its first roller coaster and several new rides. The park has many attractions such as Congo River Rapids, Runaway Mine Train, Nemesis Reborn, Oblivion, Galactica, The Smiler, Wicker Man, Rita and TH13TEEN. It operates a total of ten roller coasters and offers a range of accommodation and lodging options alongside the theme park. Facilities include Alton Towers Waterpark, Alton Towers Conference Centre and Extraordinary Golf. The theme park is open seasonally from mid-March to early November, whilst many of its hotels and amenities are open year-round. Special events are hosted throughout the year, including Alton Towers Scarefest (the park's Halloween event), Oktoberfest, Festival of Thrills, Summer of Fun and Mardi Gras.

The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It opened in 2013 as the first Infinity Coaster model from Gerstlauer and was built in the X-Sector area of the park. The Smiler features 14 inversions, which is a world record for most inversions on a roller coaster.The ride has experienced a series of setbacks since its initial unveiling. A malfunction at a press preview event delayed the official opening date by two weeks, and in 2015, a major collision left five riders seriously injured. The incident resulted in an investigation by the UK government's Health and Safety Executive, and the ride eventually reopened the following season with revamped safety standards.