Farley, Staffordshire

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.

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.

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.

Alton (UK: OL-tən) is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is noted for the theme park Alton Towers, built around the site of Alton Mansion, which was owned by the Earls of Shrewsbury, and designed by Augustus Pugin. In the 1914 map by Whiston, there were copper works in the village.The village is on the eastern side of the Churnet. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and contains numerous buildings of architectural interest; the Round-House, Alton Castle (now a Catholic youth retreat centre), St Peter's Church, The Malt House, St John's Church and Alton Towers.Alton was served by the Alton railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on 13 July 1849 and closed in January 1965.The Chained Oak in Alton has been made famous by the ride Hex – The Legend of the Towers at Alton Towers and the legend involving the Earl of Shrewsbury.

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 Chained Oak is an oak tree, tied in chains, near to the village of Alton, Staffordshire, England. The tree, referred to as "The Old Oak", is the subject of a local legend involving the Earl of Shrewsbury and an old beggar woman. It is located on a public footpath to the left of the Chained Oak B&B. The legend was adapted and fancifully elaborated to form the back-story for the ride Hex – the Legend of the Towers at the nearby Alton Towers theme park. The ride tells the tale of the old oak tree.

Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The prototype Dive Coaster model from Bolliger & Mabillard opened to the public on 14 March 1998 and was marketed as the "world's first vertical drop roller coaster". With a maximum speed of 68 mph (109.4 km/h), it is the third fastest roller coaster in the UK, behind The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Stealth at Thorpe Park.

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.

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.

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.

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.