My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

Theme Parks

There are a number of Theme Parks in the UK, each one has a variety of rides and some have extra amusements. I am just going to briefly mention two, as these are the two nearest to where I live and have visited the most.

Alton Towers

Alton Towers is now a resort as well as a theme park, but I have never stayed there. I remember visiting Alton Towers before it became as commercialised as it is now. The Towers were in a very poor state and the gardens were beautiful. Over the past 30 years or so, on each visit the park appears to have grown. The gardens are still there, they are just not as extensive as they once were.

I believe Alton Towers opened as a theme park in the 1980’s, my first visit was in the 1990’s and I have a vague memory of a 10 year anniversary. There were not as many rides then as there is now. I remember watching the Corkscrew rollercoaster but I don’t think I went on it on my first visit. I know I went on the Black Hole, The Beast and the Thunder Looper. All of which are no longer in operation at Alton Towers. Since then I have been on the Nemesis, Th13rteen and many other rides. The only ride I am not over keen on and will never go on again is Spinball Whizzer. It made me feel so sick. I cannot cope with rides that spin anymore.

Drayton Manor

When I was younger it was called Drayton Manor Park and Zoo, the rides were not really the attraction. My brother had his 6th Birthday there, I think, and we had a picnic by the lake. Over the years I have watched the park evolve. There are some great rides but the attraction for me and also my daughter was always the zoo, which is still there. We just love to see the animals.

Drayton Manor is not a big as Alton Towers. It opened as an amusement park and zoo in the 1950’s and has had it fair share of up’s and downs. I only discovered recently that there was an actual manor on the site back in the 1800’s that was built for Sir Robert Peel, but was abandoned and left was left to ruins. Only the clock tower remains from the original building.

I have a few rides which I really enjoy, Storm Force 10 and the Haunting are always fun. Most of the rides I like here involve water so I try to arrange my visits when the weather is warm else it is very uncomfortable day.

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One of the only theme parks in the UK I have never been too, is Thorpe Park and I really want to get there one day.

Thank you for reading x