self-catering holiday cottage, holiday rental near Alton Towers and Peak District

Self-catering near Alton Towers and Peak District - Call Barks Holiday Cottage 01538 703163 email barkshc@gmail.com

Day out at Alton Towers


Barks Self Catering Holiday Cottage:

Winter weekend in the country £185 for 2 nights for a family of 4/5 with all bed linen and a real log fire included. Please email barks@btconnect.com or call 01538 703436. Winter weekends and short breaks are on offer from 1st November to 17th December so put your walking boots on and enjoy some fresh air in the Peak District.

Alton Towers 2010 season
Barks is 3 miles to Alton Towers and offers self-catering accommodation for family of 4/5.
3 nights for £295 and 7 nights for £450. Bookings require 50% deposit and remainder 4 weeks before arrival.
01538 703436 barks@btconnect.com.
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I am planning our last day at Alton Towers for this season. I have 3 tickets and my 6 year old has had to make some tough choices about who to accompany him. Parents - one, other, both, none - or friends. The friends option is top priority, so much so that finding a friend with a more daring parent is in fact the favourite option. Currently racking my brains to think which parent of my son's friends would enjoy this offer the most!

Adrenalin Week at Alton Towers Nov 2009




Barks Self Catering Holiday Cottage info: We have availability from 1st November at our winter discount rate of £185 for 2 nights for a family of 4/5 with linen and log fire included. email barks@btconnect.com or call 01538 703436.


Half term: Fully booked for half term from now until 1st November, sorry!


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ADRENALIN WEEK!

Just discovered that the Alton Towers season goes on until 7th November. They've added Adrenalin Week from 2nd - 7th November!
This really has to be the last chance of the year to get your heart racing and escape to the UK's favourite theme park resort. I checked the website and tickets are £10 for 10 rides when booked online or £15 on the day.
These classic Alton Towers pure adrenalin-pumping rides are yours from 10-4pm everyday - Oblivion, Nemesis, Air and seven more.
Not only that, but we have started a winter offer and have availability during that time! Please call us on 01538 703436 or email us.

Railway Walks and ... Trains to Alton Towers


Railway Walks and the idea of taking the train to Alton Towers . . .

(First written in 2009 and updated a little in 2013)
I quite fancy Julia Bradbury's job. I watched Railway Walks, and as I watched her walking along a disused railway track in Scotland I thought of our local Beeching-closed railways in Staffordshire. It was a strange coincidence because during the day I'd noticed that Staffordshire County Council have published information on the stretch of former railway from Oakamoor to Denstone and given it a name: the 'Oakamoor to Denstone Greenway'.

The rail theme continued this morning. I picked up the local paper and the lead article is about a stretch of local railway that might be reopened. Cauldon Lowe through Froghall and off to Leek and Stoke has been acquired and may re-open for freight and passenger services. Wow! I've blogged before that the only traffic on the A52 (a dangerous road with some serious hills and bends) is mostly used by tractors and quarry lorries. It seems a crazy decision to start transporting the Lafarge lime and WBB (now Sibelco) silica sand via lorries along the A52 when it used to be transported more cleanly and safely by rail, and canal. Today's article suggests that Lafarge is seriously engaged in trying to use rail transportation again, which should be encouraged, and the result may be just 18 months away. (originally written in 2009, this has not yet happened by March 2013)

The newspaper article also raised the idea of being able to take the train to Alton Towers. Oh really . . .?! Further sections of the railway from Froghall to Oakamoor and Oakamoor to Alton Towers might, apparently, one day be re-opened to ease Alton Towers traffic. Surely this is our great local paper getting a bit sensationalist, or is it?

Rail access to Alton Towers logically needs to connect with existing rail links and probably add park and ride facilities. My mind always turned south to Uttoxeter for possible solutions. This story presents a northern option, which changes the possibilites dramatically. This option potentially opens the tracks to rail traffic from Stoke via Froghall . Interesting; I just don't believe this is even close to being seriously negotiated, let alone imminent.

There is good condition track in place from Froghall to Oakamoor and occasionally a steam train puffs along it. The end of the line is near Oakamoor at the river where there's no longer a rail bridge. Across the river, into the village, there is a long-closed tunnel, home to some lovely bats, I hear.  Needless to say, residents of Oakamoor are not convinced by the relevance of having the line re-opened for the pleasure of Alton Towers tourists, knowing that it will barely impact the level of traffic that speeds daily through the village when the theme park is open.

But things are changing round here by the day, regardless of the protests of local residents. Our gorgeous rural backwater has become earmarked as a 'Churnet Valley Leisure Corridor'. Oakamoor, a hidden gem and not currently a leisure destination in its own right, could find its status dramatically changed with the addition of 650 tourist lodges.

Nearby Moneystone Quarry (WBB/Sibelco), along this stretch of rail track, has now ceased operations (2012). The site has a restoration order on it but meanwhile new owners, Laver Leisure, are applying for an enormous leisure development, not just of the quarried land but of the adjoining farmland as well. Plans revealed to date (2013) show this to be disproportionate to the area, almost linking the villages of Oakamoor and Whiston with all these lodges. Further consultations with local residents are planned so we will see what transpires.

I predict that the deal-breaker or deal-maker for any serious rail development along the Churnet Valley will be the section from Oakamoor to Denstone, alongside Alton Towers (to the left of the picture); the stretch recently named the Churnet Way. Let's see what happens . . .

There is no denying the negative impact of Alton Towers traffic for miles around. Sadly, however, no obvious solution has yet been proposed. New roads through ancient woodland and private estates have not proved feasible for many reasons, despite a financial commitment from Alton Towers. The solutions voiced to date are worse than the problem, in my opinion.  And, for the record, the problem is serious.

Everyone is keeping tabs on the seriousness of this rail proposal and all the development proposals. Staffordshire Moorlands District Council are preparing a Masterplan, but for some time they have been keeping us, and the hopeful developers, in suspense. Interesting times!