The resort is home to some of the biggest and most wonderful gardens in Britain. With elegant conservatories and vibrant flower beds, the area is a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the theme park.
Features
- The Bandstand
- The Canal
- The Choragic Monument
- Colonnade of the Muses
- Corkscrew Fountain
- The Dovecote
- The Gothic Temple
- Grand Conservatories
- The Horseshoe Walk
- Jacob’s Ladder
- The Orangery
- The Pagoda Fountain
- Prospect Tower
- La Refuge
- The Swiss Cottage
Facilities
- Toilets – nearest toilets found in Mutiny Bay or Forbidden Valley
Whilst the majority of guests visit for the resort’s rides and attractions, not many realise that the park also features this arboreal wonderland. It’s one of the few attractions that you won’t have to queue for and won’t flip you upside down at high speeds! Continuing throughout the valley for miles, it’s easy to lose yourself whilst exploring.
Notable features include the Chinese Pagoda Fountain which throws water up to 90ft in the air, the enormous 300ft long grand conservatory and the Swiss Cottage which was built to house a blind harpist whom the Earl employed to fill the garden with music.
If you don’t want to walk through the gardens you can also travel across them by Skyride and enjoy the amazing aerial views of the Valley.
Smaller gardens can also be found surrounding the towers ruins with Her Ladyship’s Garden being the most famous.
The Alton Towers Gardens date back to the early 18th century, when the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury, Charles Talbot employed hundreds of labourers, mechanics and artisans to transform the grounds of the ancestral home. Led by Thomas Allason and Robert Abrahams, this huge team created iconic structures which remain to this day – it was their combination of money, architectural talent and an eye for beauty, which made the gardens the extravagant, spectacular sight that they are.
Charles Talbot died in 1827 and a cenotaph was erected at the entrance to the gardens in the style of the famous Choragic Temple of Lysiscrates in Athens. It houses a bust made of marble with the inscription “He Made The Desert Smile”. His nephew, the 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, John Talbot, took over and continued the work, expanding the gardens further into the valley and adding the formal gardens near the Towers themselves.
The gardens were first opened to the public in 1860; thirty years later garden fetes attended by as many as 30,000 people were common. Aside from ongoing maintenance, the gardens have remained largely untouched during the development of the theme park and will most likely be preserved for years to come.
