The Smiler and the big coasters
Fourteen inversions on The Smiler, Oblivion's near-vertical drop and the flaming wooden Wicker Man make this Britain's strongest coaster line-up, most of it with a 1.4 m height limit.
Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0
Fourteen inversions in a single ride: that is the world record The Smiler has held since 2013, and nobody has beaten it. It explains why British teenagers will sit in a car for hours to reach the small Staffordshire village of Alton. Alton Towers is usually billed as Britain's largest theme park, but the odd thing about it is that it was built inside the grounds of a ruined Gothic mansion that once belonged to the Earls of Shrewsbury; the shell of the house, towers and all, still looms over the coasters as a backdrop no other park can offer. The nineteenth-century gardens, with their Chinese pagoda fountain, survive too and are the quietest corner of the whole site. The big coasters are the point. Nemesis Reborn, the inverted ride that reopened in March 2024 after a full retrack; Oblivion, the world's first dive coaster, which tips you almost vertically - 87.5 degrees - into a black hole; the wooden Wicker Man with its fire effects; and, newest of all, Toxicator, a suspended top-spin added in 2025 that spins rather than coasts. Most of the big rides demand a minimum height of 1.4 m, so measure your children before you promise them anything. For the under-sixes there is CBeebies Land with gentle rides and shows, plus the new Bluey junior coaster since March 2026, and children under 90 cm go free. The waterpark needs a separate ticket, and the whole site is big and hilly: pushchairs cope fine, but legs give out before the day does. The window is narrow. The theme park runs only from mid-March to early November, opening at 10:00 and closing at 16:00 on most days, later in peak summer and as late as 21:00 on event nights. From November to March the hotels and waterpark stay open while the coasters sit silent. The park asks every visitor, passholders included, to book a dated ticket in advance, and the gap is startling: from around £32 per person online against £68 if you pay at the gate on the day, while a two-day pass starts at £44 and is often the smarter buy for a family. Parking is £13 pre-booked (£15 on the day) and sits a 15-25 minute walk from the gate, or you ride the monorail in. In school holidays, especially July and August, queues of 60-90 minutes on the big coasters are normal; a midweek day in May, June or September halves them. Halal food inside is limited and you are allowed to bring your own, so pack enough. From the Peak District this is a day trip by car and nothing else: roughly an hour from Bakewell or Buxton via Ashbourne, with no train or bus worth relying on. Is it worth the effort? With children aged six to fifteen, or with anyone who loves roller coasters, yes without hesitation. If your party is toddlers only, half a day in CBeebies Land is enough; and if nobody in the group rides coasters, the gardens and ruins alone will not justify the ticket price.
Fourteen inversions on The Smiler, Oblivion's near-vertical drop and the flaming wooden Wicker Man make this Britain's strongest coaster line-up, most of it with a 1.4 m height limit.
A whole zone for under-sixes with gentle rides, shows and the new Bluey junior coaster since March 2026, which is what makes the day work for a family of mixed ages.
The Gothic shell of the Earls of Shrewsbury's mansion and its nineteenth-century gardens with the Chinese pagoda fountain are the quietest corner on site, half an hour away from the screaming.
Farley Lane, Alton, Staffordshire ST10 4DB
Honestly, not for a full day. CBeebies Land is excellent for this age, and under-90 cm children go free, but you exhaust it in three or four hours while the adults pay full price and ride nothing. Go on a term-time weekday, when the park sells a Parent and Toddler pass from around £29 booked online, and treat it as a half-day plus the gardens.
One midweek day in May, June or September is enough to ride every big coaster. If you are forced into July, August or a weekend, the queues swallow half the day, and a two-day pass from £44 with a night in one of the resort hotels becomes the sensible choice.