6 best UK theme parks to visit in summer 2021 High octane rides at Alton Towers and family fun in the Scottish highlands at Landmark Adventure Park... UK for 20 years. Tickets for Alton Towers start at around £34. altontowers.com
THORPE PARK
Spine-tingling vertical drops, powerful G forces and countless loop-de-loops, the UK can hold its own with the best of them when it comes to rollercoasters. For a small country we're blessed with some excellent theme parks; thrill seekers have big hitters like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, there's some excellent family-friendly days out to be had on the south coast and in the Scottish Highlands, while the natural world and conservation is represented well too. Here's some ideas for a memorable trip.
ALTON TOWERS Staffordshire's Alton Towers has long been a favourite of adrenaline junkies and it's 18
status as one of the UK's most popular attractions is unlikely to change anytime soon. A height restriction on the park's rides means the headline attractions are often cunningly, innovatively built into its landscape. Old favourites like Nemesis and Oblivion still stand proudly well into their third decade and the park has continued to freshen things up in recent times. Rita takes riders to just under 100kph, while Galactica (which replaced Air, the world's first flying coaster) comes with a virtual reality headset that simulates a trip through the cosmos. The new kid on the block is The Wicker Man – the first wooden rollercoaster to be built in the
With some of the biggest, fastest rides in Europe, Thorpe Park is another winner for those looking for white knuckle thrills. The terrifying Saw – The Ride has a 'beyond vertical' 100 degree drop; the eye-poppingly fast Stealth is anything but, going from 0 to 130kph in 1.9 seconds; and The Swarm ominously suspends riders upside down before a dive drop that gives way to 90 seconds of frantic dodging. Derren Brown's Ghost Train and The Walking Dead provide indoor thrills, while the
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