luckykaa

Haven't been to Alton Towers since a Stag Party many many years ago. It's not changed much, except for all of the rides.

This was day three of a very busy long weekend, where I went to a steampunk market and steam train ride withflickums . The market was smaller than expected, so I zipped down to Bristol to see a friend and wish him happy birthday, where I also caught up with his fiance, andtictactoepony and masterofapath ,  stayed in a lovely pub in Lower Almondsbury, which did a very nice Eggs Royale, visited the aviation museum, where I saw a Bristol Fighter, and many other aircraft (many made in Bristol); and, of course, Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, having its own dedicated exhibition space.

Monday was a planned day off work to visit Alton Towers, because visiting during a weekend just isn't worth the queues.

So we got there. Felt a bit fleeced that I couldn't buy a day ticket on the gate, only a season pass. Should probably have pre-booked. But oh well. Caught up with friends. They'd just been on "Thirteen" but were happy to go again.  They wanted to go on "Rita", but it was closed just before they got there. So we queued up. And Thirteen stopped working. Decided to wait to see if they could fix it. They did. Just as we'd left... Still, at least the queue was short. Not sure I really like roller coasters that go backwards.

By this point, Rita was running. Rita is all about speed! 0-60 in about 2 seconds. Then it just carries on going fast, but really it's all about the initial shock. Next up was Hex. One of the less plummet-y rides, so flickums was fine with it. It's a lot of fun. It's very much a magic trick, as the seats rock and seem to go a scary distance up the walls.

The cable car wasn't working (there's a theme developing here) so we had a stroll down the valley and up again, and ate at the roller-coaster cafe. And yes, food is delivered by roller coaster. Order by tablet, and a few minutes later, a pan in a trolley comes down the tracks. Food was nice too. Expensive but that's expected at a theme park.

So, next ride, was Galactica. Which is essentially rebranded air. There is the option of VR headsets but we didn't want to join that queue. This didn't break down. However one of the riders did... Fortunately they have a protocol in place for sick, although I'm sure that's a less pleasant aspect of the job. Still, after a quick cleanup and a couple of dry runs, we were allowed on.

Next up was Nemesis. Where only two of us were brave enough to ride on it. Me, because I'm too stupid to have much of a sense of fear, and Sarah, because she loves roller coasters. Had a go on Duel, and the Congo Rapids river, because these were both flickums friendly rides and kind of fun, although I'm sure the rapids used to get people a lot wetter. Finished off with Wicker Man, which is new and exciting. And it is a good ride. More of a big dipper, made of wood, and no inverts.

It was a shame we didn't have more time. Would have liked to have gone on more rides, but we had to go home, so we got on the monorail to the carpark... Which promptly broke down.

We had a lot of fun. Really liked Nemesis and Rita. Breakdowns were annoying but I guess this is what happens when the weather gets so hot. Might be able to go again though. The overpriced ticket does allow re-entry.

"We should go out somewhere" says flickums, "take advantage of the weather".

I look at the interwebs. Throw out Bosworth Field as a suggestion.

"I've wanted to go there for years" says flickums.

So we arrive. Holly the evil satnav tries to send me past it but this time I realise I should follow the signs. We park. We pay. We display. We look in the gift shop. Those people who make the wooden rulers with kings and queens of England on must be pleased they haven't had to redesign for over 60 years. Then we join the tour.

There was an opportunity to carry the sword. Flickums' hand shot up so she won! Then we were given the tour. I was given the job of Richard III. Flick was nominated as Henry Tudor. Our guide explained the context of the battle and a bried background of the history. Apparently we don't quite know exactly where the battle happened. When the centre was opened, there was one idea, but these days there are other idea. Of course, the area with several cannonballs is probably a good contender. We went further to a point where we could see where the battle probably actually happened.

Other roles were doled out. One couple refused to be the Stanleys (nobody likes them. They decided to wait tuntil the end of the battle, and pick the winning side), and we staged a reenactment of the battle.Henry Tudor wins.

Returned to the centre. Had foods. They were a little light on the summer food. Flick had the roast beef, and I had the steak and onion pie.  Would have preferred something lighter.

We didn't want to splash out on the vistors centre. We instead decided to see the falconry display. The one we liked the look of was at 4:00 and it was only around 2:30 so I suggested zipping to a preserved railway nearby and do train geeking. Flickums seemed happy to come along. We were there in time for a train but I was disappointed that it was a diesel railcar and not a steam train! Still, it was nice to hang round the station.

We returned and saw birdies. The falconry display woman seemed a little disorganised, but we bought tickets and after she got the birds, we saw the display and saw birds rip their food to pieces, and generally saw them fly and hunt lures. It was nice to see.