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Garden Owners,
Please copy this information and paste it into an email to:   wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com

Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us.

Regards,
Armchair Travel Co Ltd
http://www.armchair-travel.com
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Garden Name: Alton Towers
Last Modified: 19/01/2011
Garden ID: 0390

pic: 0390_altonTowers.jpg

Owner: Tracey Clements
Address:
Alton


Postcode: ST10 4DB
County: Staffordshire

tel: 08705 -204060
fax: 
website: www.altontowers.com/tickets
email: 

Features: 
Theme park rides.

English Heritage Grade:


Opening Times:
1st Apr - 11th Nov; 10am - 6pm

Best Times of Year to Visit: 


To see: 


National Collection: 


National Garden Scheme days: No
Comments: 

Parties / Coaches: Yes 
Comments: 

Viewing by Appointment: No
Comments:  

House Open for Viewing: Yes
Comments: Partly open.

Admission Prices:
One-day, Two-day, School, Season tickets etc. see own website.

Parking: Yes
Lavatories: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Shop: Yes
Plants for Sale: No
Lunches: Yes
Teas: Yes
Refreshments: Yes
Picnics: Yes
Dogs allowed: No
Only on Lead: No
Events: No

Other Facilities:
Guide dogs only.


Designer: Thomas Allason and Robert Abrahams
Description of Garden:
Alton Towers, the UK's number one theme park, consists of 500 acres of superbly landscaped grounds with original and spectacular gardens complementing the extraordinary collection of rides and entertainments. Leaving the enormously popular amusements aside there is much for the visitor to enjoy in the extravagant gardens created by the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury and his nephew John Talbot, the 16th Earl, in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The amazing Chinese Pagoda Fountain, which is an exact copy of the To Ho Pagoda in Canton, the Bath Fountain with its pond containing the figure of Triton blowing water through a conch shell, the gilded domes, plate glass and galvanised iron structure of the enormous Grand Conservatories contrast with the quaint thatched Swiss Cottage and the restful Le Refuge. Scattered throughout the gardens is a fine collection of statuary, much of it with classical allusions designed to add to the cultural and artistic ambience. 

The Dutch Gardens which were created for John Talbot in the late 19th century complete the formal aspect of the gardens and it is hoped that the water flow into the lion fountain at the rear of these gardens will again be fed naturally from the River Churnet.


History: 
Alton Towers was the site of eighth century fortress held by Ceolred, King of Mercia. The castle on the site was occupied by the Earl of Shrewsbury from 1412, when Lady Ankarat de Verdun married Sir John Talbot, and it remained in the Talbot family's ownership until the 1920s. 

The 15th Earl, Charles Talbot, who was born in 1753, transformed the landscape surrounding the Towers. He employed hundreds of artisans, mechanics and labourers under the direction of the garden architects, Thomas Allason and Robert Abrahams, to build his dream, which was to create a completely original garden landscape. The lakes, pools and terraces were skillfully dug out to allow the Chinese Pagoda Fountain to throw water up to 90 feet high above the tree tops. The 300 feet long Grand Conservatories were designed by Abrahams for him and he had Le Refuge built as a place of rest and refreshment. He even built the Swiss Cottage for a blind Welsh harpist, whom he employed to fill the gardens with music. A cenotaph to Charles Talbot, who died in 1827, stands at the entrance to the gardens in the form of a copy of the famous Choragic Temple of Lysiscrates (Athens 344 BC). It houses a marble bust of him with the inscription "He Made the Desert Smile".

His nephew John, who succeeded him, was another flamboyant character and continued his works to complete the formal gardens near the Towers and the valley gardens beyond.

Local Inns: 
Yew Tree, Cauldon

Accomodation: 


Restaurants: 


Village/Town/Sightseeing: