in Kids & Family at in Stoke-on-Trent

All year round

More than a theme park, Alton Towers is a British institution and one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country, with three million visitors every year. Large-scale white-knuckle rides abound, but there's plenty for the faint-hearted too.

Every couple of years or so a new Alton Towers ride is unveiled, bigger and better than the last, and the park's appeal lies in the number of such multi-million-pound, magnificent rollercoaster-style rides, each one uniquely different, but all united in their ability to provide maximum thrills.

Rides worth waiting for include Rita Queen of Speed - a must for any adrenalin junkie, where riders accelerate from 0-100kph in just 2.5 seconds! Oblivion is a face-first 60-metre vertical drop which subjects "lucky" punters to a force of 4.5G (more than astronauts experience at take-off). Then there's the sheer intensity and speed of Alton Towers' Nemesis (including four seconds of zero gravity), and the stomach-churning Ripsaw. Watch those knuckles whiten.

However, such rides are just one aspect of Alton Towers - there are also numerous attractions, rides and shows geared towards younger kids.

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