Alton Towers

We also went to Alton Towers. We had hoped to get there before the school holidays, but on arrival it quickly became evident that we were too late. We still managed to ride Air (a coaster that suspends you face down, as if you're flying), Nemesis (an 'inverted' roller coaster, where your legs dangle), the Corkscrew (probably the oldest ride in the park), Hex (which is hilarious, but I'd ruin it if I said any more), Oblivion (a vertical drop roller coaster that, sadly, consists of a vertical drop and a ride back to the station), the Rapids (rapids), Duel (a haunted house where you get to shoot things) and Rita - Queen of Speed (Britain's first openly gay rollercoaster). The days was slightly marred by the foul-mouthed, loud oiks we had to share the place with, but I guess that's true of theme parks everywhere.

Having left home at 7.30am and got back to London at about 10pm, we were pretty tired by the end of the day, and waking up to discover someone had tried to break into my brother's car was also a disappointment. All in all, though, it comes highly recommended, and they do serve excellent coffee.