Alton Towers used to describe the Waterpark as the beach holiday without the British weather, or something similar anyway. I took my son there the other day and was reminded of this. It was in fact a gloriously sunny day so we made the most of the outside areas. I sat in the hot pool with my face turned towards the sun, and we spent many an hour sliding down the outside shoots. Not sure I would have laid out on a beach towel though. Needless to say, I have spent many a session there when it has been too horrible to do anything outdoors (and you have to trust me when I say the weather has to be really bad to drive me inside). So with the approach of winter, Alton Towers Waterpark comes into its own as a family weekend break, staying at Barks self-catering cottage. When you've had enough of the poolside fun, come back to the holiday cottage warm your toes on the underfloor heating, the radiators and even the open fire!
Now here's a thought for families with pre-school children. Alton Towers Waterpark has a midweek deal for children aged 6 and under. It is just £5 for the morning session for you and your toddler. Two parents, two children: it is £10 for an excellent morning of fun. I am very familiar with this session and used to take full advantage of it when my son was of qualifying age.
I remembered these Waterpark 'toddler sessions' very fondly, when I was there last week. My son is not a natural swimmer and it has taken time and patience to build his water confidence. We haven't been to formal lessons for a while because he was starting to complain about them, so I stopped them for a while before it became an outright refusal. So last week I was keen to assess his abilities. There is no swimming pool as such, just an abundance of water in the form of shallows, slides, landing pools, hot pools, waterfalls, moving rivers. The actual swimming took place after he landed in a pool off a slides or tunnel. Big splash, swim to the side and out again to go back to the top. Adults can just about keep a dry face, but children will get wet all over and strangely they don't really notice. Fantastic for water confidence. My son even asked me for a diving lesson - sitting dive from a step.
If you want a midweek change of scene and you have toddlers then please enquire about our midweek winter rates. Tell the office that you are 'working from home' and hook your laptop onto our WiFi - we won't tell on you! email barks@btconnect.com
(and don't forget the off season spa deals . . . entry to the relaxation rooms for £10 midweek - no kids allowed there though)