Ok all here is my report on alton towers. Visited with @GRONK . After a few pics and yap with gronk about the towers Mr gronk decided to invite mr slim on a trip here. And it was the most fun ive had for a while. Im not going to lie i shit myself for a good while but eventually got my explore hat on and went with it. Bloody awesome it was also. The only odd bit being ceebeebies land semi open for children from hotel oh and a childlike gronk and slim Who decided why the fook not have a ride or 2 lol. Anyways with cebbebies semi open it was made slightly better exploring food and drink was available etc lol. Anyways we did a full route of the park halloween town etc. Some things where a bit to sealed to get in ie oblivion i wanted to get to the bottem of the drop but they have it caged up. There may be another way but we moved on has to find more to see. Also the old air now galictica was closed off with people walking around (Gutted). Nemesis was another we where there and a bloody pic up went straight passed us how the fook he didnt see us i dont know. So we decided to leave this area to fate and carry on our journey. Now 13 was my fave bit. Managed to get inside and climb it Sweet stuff. To be really honest it was all great and surreal .. Walking around and not a sole to be seen damn cool. And the pay was getting up the towers and seeing the top and inside. The last time i was up here was in my dads arms at about 35 yrs back ... Anyway on with history and pics etc. Now these shots was all taken on my new s7 edge and some playing with settings etc. It goes to show good pics can come from a phone with some tinkering of course lol. Enjoy all. And big thx to @GRONK for the invite.Now that mr @GRONK has had his pics up thought bout time mine went up . Pluss some couldent see my pics so makes sence. now im going to try avoid a to much pic heavy report or else i will feel the wrath of @Ojay and other people so im going to pic my faves and hope its ok. So slight pic heavy LOL
History:
The history of Alton Towers is long and varied. Built in an area called Bunbury Hill, it started its life as an iron age fort before 1000BC, until about 700AD when it became a fortress for the Saxon King Ceolred of Mercia.
The land had many owners and uses, until the 1100's when a crusader by the name of Bertram de Verdun was given the land for his work during the Holy Land Wars. Eventually, the estate was in the hands of the Talbot family, who originated from France. The first Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot, fought alongside Henry V for much of his life, and the family were always close to the hearts of the rulers of the country.
The house and estate itself, was called Alveton Lodge, or Alton Lodge, during it's early life, and was the summer residence for the Earl and his family. When Charles, became the 15th Earl, he took more interest in the house and its grounds, and decided to extend it. Work began in 1800, and continued, with major work being done, or planned every year until 1852.
One of Charles' biggest wishes was to develop the dry valley to the east of the house into Britain's finest example of a stately homes garden. The lakes, and pools you see today were dug by hand, and water was diverted from a spring at Ramsor, two miles away. In the years 1806-1807, 5,000 conifers, and 8,000 other trees were planted in the grounds.
Major work on the house began in 1811, and after this was renamed to Alton Abbey, though it could hold no actual claim to be called an Abbey. If you examine closely enough, you can still see some of the remaining parts of Alton Lodge today.
In 1827, Charles died, but his nephew, John, shared his vision for the estate, and took over his work. A monument was erected to Charles in the gardens, with the words 'He Made The Desert Smile'. John, would over the next few years, complete the gardens, and the house.
In 1837, the Shrewsbury's main residence in Heythrop burned to the ground and everything that was recovered, was moved to newly renamed Alton Towers. Now the halls and galleries were covered with valuable works of art, and paintings by artists like Raphael and Van Dyck.
Further work was done on the house from 1839, when Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, began working for the Earl. Much of the house as it is seen today is the work of Pugin, and he also continued to develop the surrounding grounds and gardens.
When Earl John died in 1852, the history of the Towers would change forever. Legal battles began by family members believing to have right to the estate, very costly legal battles as it would turn out. Henry Chetwynd Talbot, won the battle for the house, but due to the massive costs incurred by this, he would next sell the contents of the house.
In 1860, with the Earl needing to raise money to restore parts of the house that were in dire need of repair, he decided to open the grounds to the public. That year he raised enough money from this to refurbish parts of the house.
It was the 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, Charles Henry Talbot, who then began to develop the estate as a tourist attraction in the early 1890's, He organised fetes, illuminations and firework displays, as well as exhibitions of instruments of torture, and balloon festivals. In the early 1900's, he developed the Talbot motor car, that would soon become the first motor car to travel 100 miles in one hour.
Four years earlier, the Earl and his wife had gone their separate ways, with the Earl moving out of the Towers, leaving his wife there. He agreed to pay her an allowance, but due to him never paying this, the Towers began their journey into decline.
It was in 1918, that much of the Shrewsbury properties were sold, and ultimately, in 1924, the Alton Towers estate itself was sold to a group of local businessmen. Once again, an auction was held, and all the contents of the house were sold to the highest bidder. The estate was still open to the public during this time, and some of the rooms were converted into cafes and rest rooms for the thousands of visitors it received every year.
Shortly after the outbreak of the second World War, the estate was requisitioned by the army to be used as a cadet training centre. During this time, no repairs were carried out, and so the buildings continued their demise. It wasn't until 1951, that the Towers were returned to the Alton Towers Company, and due to the post-war shortage of metals such as copper and lead, the whole interior of the house was removed for sale leaving what we see today, with only small glimpses of what once adorned the bare brick and stone walls.
The whole house was abandoned, with the exception of the Chapel, that housed a model railway, and the Armoury, that became a gift shop. In the 1970's, the new owners, decided to restore parts of the house, and reinforced the floors and ceilings to allow public access. A few attractions were constructed in the grounds to keep the public amused while they strolled around the estate.
Then, in 1980, with John Broome in charge, things began to turn around for Alton Towers. He decided to turn the 500 acre site into a leisure park for the family. The park already had a few attractions, but he knew they needed something more. On land to the east of the Towers, he constructed the U.K.'s first double corkscrew rollercoaster. Visitors began to come from all over the country, and from the then on we know what happened.
Broome continued to add more rides and attractions to the line up, until 1990, when it was bought by the Tussauds Group, which itself was bought by the Charterhouse group in 1998. Charterhouse then sold Tussauds to Dubai International Capital in early 2005, who subsequently sold it on to Merlin Entertainments in March 2007. None of this has changed the minds of the public however, who still regard Alton Towers as the best day out money can buy, anywhere in the United Kingdom.
The Towers express opened in 1974 then came
All in 1980
Corkscrew
Pirate Ship
Miniature Golf
Cine 2000
Alpine Bob Sled
Dinosaurs
Just going to chuck this in also has its very well documented and intresting
Unbeknown to many, Britain’s most popular theme park is named after the mansion Alton Towers, which still stands there on the grounds today. The hauntings which occur in the house are also unknown to the many millions that pass through the parks gates each year.
The site that the Alton Towers mansion stands has history dating back to 1000BC. Evidence suggests there was an Iron Age fort here during that time. The site was handed over to the Saxon King Ceolred of Mercia in 700AD. He ruled for just 7 years before he became insane, which adds to the history of the site being cursed.
The belief that this site is cursed was again emphasised in the 19th Century when the legend of the old oak tree began. The building you see today was the brainchild of Charles Talbot who began transforming the building during the early 1800’s, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury. It is he who this curse centres around.
The story goes that in 1821 Charles was on his way back to the mansion one dark night, when his coach came upon an old beggar woman in the road. She asked for help but he refused. She pointed to an old oak tree nearby and told him that for every branch of the tree that falls a member of the Talbot family shall die.
There was to be a storm that very night, and a member of Charles’ family did indeed die of a sudden illness. Upon hearing about the death, Charles headed out to the oak tree to find a branch had indeed broken off. He was determined not to allow this same fate to happen to anyone else in his family, so he ordered the tree be chained up. If you go to the tree you’ll see the chains are still there to this day.
Anyways on with the pics hope you all enjoy....
Ok will add a few more thx for looking this far hope you like pics..
History:
The history of Alton Towers is long and varied. Built in an area called Bunbury Hill, it started its life as an iron age fort before 1000BC, until about 700AD when it became a fortress for the Saxon King Ceolred of Mercia.
The land had many owners and uses, until the 1100's when a crusader by the name of Bertram de Verdun was given the land for his work during the Holy Land Wars. Eventually, the estate was in the hands of the Talbot family, who originated from France. The first Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot, fought alongside Henry V for much of his life, and the family were always close to the hearts of the rulers of the country.
The house and estate itself, was called Alveton Lodge, or Alton Lodge, during it's early life, and was the summer residence for the Earl and his family. When Charles, became the 15th Earl, he took more interest in the house and its grounds, and decided to extend it. Work began in 1800, and continued, with major work being done, or planned every year until 1852.
One of Charles' biggest wishes was to develop the dry valley to the east of the house into Britain's finest example of a stately homes garden. The lakes, and pools you see today were dug by hand, and water was diverted from a spring at Ramsor, two miles away. In the years 1806-1807, 5,000 conifers, and 8,000 other trees were planted in the grounds.
Major work on the house began in 1811, and after this was renamed to Alton Abbey, though it could hold no actual claim to be called an Abbey. If you examine closely enough, you can still see some of the remaining parts of Alton Lodge today.
In 1827, Charles died, but his nephew, John, shared his vision for the estate, and took over his work. A monument was erected to Charles in the gardens, with the words 'He Made The Desert Smile'. John, would over the next few years, complete the gardens, and the house.
In 1837, the Shrewsbury's main residence in Heythrop burned to the ground and everything that was recovered, was moved to newly renamed Alton Towers. Now the halls and galleries were covered with valuable works of art, and paintings by artists like Raphael and Van Dyck.
Further work was done on the house from 1839, when Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, began working for the Earl. Much of the house as it is seen today is the work of Pugin, and he also continued to develop the surrounding grounds and gardens.
When Earl John died in 1852, the history of the Towers would change forever. Legal battles began by family members believing to have right to the estate, very costly legal battles as it would turn out. Henry Chetwynd Talbot, won the battle for the house, but due to the massive costs incurred by this, he would next sell the contents of the house.
In 1860, with the Earl needing to raise money to restore parts of the house that were in dire need of repair, he decided to open the grounds to the public. That year he raised enough money from this to refurbish parts of the house.
It was the 20th Earl of Shrewsbury, Charles Henry Talbot, who then began to develop the estate as a tourist attraction in the early 1890's, He organised fetes, illuminations and firework displays, as well as exhibitions of instruments of torture, and balloon festivals. In the early 1900's, he developed the Talbot motor car, that would soon become the first motor car to travel 100 miles in one hour.
Four years earlier, the Earl and his wife had gone their separate ways, with the Earl moving out of the Towers, leaving his wife there. He agreed to pay her an allowance, but due to him never paying this, the Towers began their journey into decline.
It was in 1918, that much of the Shrewsbury properties were sold, and ultimately, in 1924, the Alton Towers estate itself was sold to a group of local businessmen. Once again, an auction was held, and all the contents of the house were sold to the highest bidder. The estate was still open to the public during this time, and some of the rooms were converted into cafes and rest rooms for the thousands of visitors it received every year.
Shortly after the outbreak of the second World War, the estate was requisitioned by the army to be used as a cadet training centre. During this time, no repairs were carried out, and so the buildings continued their demise. It wasn't until 1951, that the Towers were returned to the Alton Towers Company, and due to the post-war shortage of metals such as copper and lead, the whole interior of the house was removed for sale leaving what we see today, with only small glimpses of what once adorned the bare brick and stone walls.
The whole house was abandoned, with the exception of the Chapel, that housed a model railway, and the Armoury, that became a gift shop. In the 1970's, the new owners, decided to restore parts of the house, and reinforced the floors and ceilings to allow public access. A few attractions were constructed in the grounds to keep the public amused while they strolled around the estate.
Then, in 1980, with John Broome in charge, things began to turn around for Alton Towers. He decided to turn the 500 acre site into a leisure park for the family. The park already had a few attractions, but he knew they needed something more. On land to the east of the Towers, he constructed the U.K.'s first double corkscrew rollercoaster. Visitors began to come from all over the country, and from the then on we know what happened.
Broome continued to add more rides and attractions to the line up, until 1990, when it was bought by the Tussauds Group, which itself was bought by the Charterhouse group in 1998. Charterhouse then sold Tussauds to Dubai International Capital in early 2005, who subsequently sold it on to Merlin Entertainments in March 2007. None of this has changed the minds of the public however, who still regard Alton Towers as the best day out money can buy, anywhere in the United Kingdom.
The Towers express opened in 1974 then came
All in 1980
Corkscrew
Pirate Ship
Miniature Golf
Cine 2000
Alpine Bob Sled
Dinosaurs
Just going to chuck this in also has its very well documented and intresting
Unbeknown to many, Britain’s most popular theme park is named after the mansion Alton Towers, which still stands there on the grounds today. The hauntings which occur in the house are also unknown to the many millions that pass through the parks gates each year.
The site that the Alton Towers mansion stands has history dating back to 1000BC. Evidence suggests there was an Iron Age fort here during that time. The site was handed over to the Saxon King Ceolred of Mercia in 700AD. He ruled for just 7 years before he became insane, which adds to the history of the site being cursed.
The belief that this site is cursed was again emphasised in the 19th Century when the legend of the old oak tree began. The building you see today was the brainchild of Charles Talbot who began transforming the building during the early 1800’s, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury. It is he who this curse centres around.
The story goes that in 1821 Charles was on his way back to the mansion one dark night, when his coach came upon an old beggar woman in the road. She asked for help but he refused. She pointed to an old oak tree nearby and told him that for every branch of the tree that falls a member of the Talbot family shall die.
There was to be a storm that very night, and a member of Charles’ family did indeed die of a sudden illness. Upon hearing about the death, Charles headed out to the oak tree to find a branch had indeed broken off. He was determined not to allow this same fate to happen to anyone else in his family, so he ordered the tree be chained up. If you go to the tree you’ll see the chains are still there to this day.
Anyways on with the pics hope you all enjoy....
Ok will add a few more thx for looking this far hope you like pics..
