Britain's BEST Theme Park is the Secret to FAST English Learning!

Today we will kill two birds with one stone, but don't worry,

no real birds will be harmed.

To kill two birds with one stone means to achieve two outcomes at the same time.

We will kill two birds with one stone.

You're going to see inside one of the UK's most famous theme parks, and

improve your English at the same time.

And as a bonus, I'll also give you some travel tips.

in case you decide to visit one day.

Let's begin.

Alton Towers is located just south of the Peak District.

It is a four hour drive northwest of London, though we set off at 7am,

missed all the traffic and managed to get there in around three hours.

Woohoo!

However, I was quite tired and disheveled for the rest of the day.

Alton Towers is a huge theme park that opened in 1980.

Though the Alton Towers stately home and gardens have been around

for a lot longer than that.

And this brings me to tip number one.

Comfortable footwear.

You must be prepared to walk.

Besides standing in line for ages waiting to board rides, you will also

need to cover a lot of ground to get from one area of the park to another.

And you may want to explore the beautiful gardens.

Let's take a look.

Say family day.

Family day.

Just take a look at those beautiful gardens.

And there is Alton Towers.

The architecture is stunning, though unfortunately much of it is now in ruins.

Ah, the ducks.

A very common sight in the UK, found on most lakes,

rivers, canals and large ponds.

Now, I don't normally take the boys into the arcades, but there are some

areas of Alton Towers that contain rides that are only suitable for adults.

So, while Nick was off enjoying one of the many roller coasters,

I took the boys into an arcade to kill some time while we waited.

Tip number two is, if you have some loose change, Then take it with you.

There are machines that will exchange money from your debit or credit card into

coins, but they will give you a minimum of 10 worth of coins, and you may not

want to spend a tenner in the arcade.

Let's take a look.

Inside the arcades, my boys are always drawn to the coin pushers.

On this occasion, they lost one pound worth of 2p's, but then at

the last minute, won back 70p.

Ah, air hockey is a firm favourite for all the family.

Many of the games here are one pound per player per game.

Turn, which is quite expensive, but I let the boys have one round

on the motorcycle racing game.

Right.

Let's see how tall you are.

Fit together, right?

Jacob, you are one metre and 24?

No, no one.

No.

Don't cheat.

So on your tiptoes, right?

Ready?

Should we see how tall you.

One metre and six.

1.

6 metres.

Say it right.

1.

6 metres.

You're so tall.

You're so tall.

Oh, I really messed up there.

Caspian isn't 1.

6.

He is 1.

06.

Those height checkers are available all over the park and due to

height restrictions on many rides.

You are reminded to check if you are tall enough before boarding most rides.

If you are only just tall enough, then the staff will ask if they

can double check your height before they let you onto the ride.

And in Elton Towers, they gave my eldest boy, Jacob, a wristband after

checking him the first time to prove to everyone, at a glance, that he is.

Now, armed with the knowledge of the boys height, we went off in

search of the most exciting rides.

Tip number three is take a good backpack and a pram if you have

little ones who get tired easily.

Caspian is nearly four.

And quite good at walking long distances, so we didn't need to take a pram.

Instead, Nick would give him a piggyback from time to time.

We really did cover a lot of ground during this visit.

As we are thrill seekers, we wanted to go on as many roller coasters and

crazy rides as we possibly could.

Tip number four.

Consider the live entertainment.

If you have younger children, then you can add variety to your day by planning to

attend a few of the many live performances that are held throughout the day.

I recommend that you download the Theme Park app and check in advance

What shows are running, as well as the times and locations of those shows so

that you can plan your day around them.

These shows all include audience participation.

And my boys particularly enjoyed having a boogie with their

favourite cartoon characters.

There is also a large playground for the children to enjoy

in the CBeebiesland area.

Tip number five.

Extend your stay.

Alton Towers is huge and there is so much to see.

If you book a night in one of their hotels, then you are often

given your second day in the park for free or at a discounted rate.

Alton Towers has two other activities you can consider as well.

If you are extending your stay, they have a really cool

waterpark and a crazy golf course.

As you can see, we are all incredible golfers.

I am particularly good at.

Gosh,

we have covered so much already, but let's keep going.

The fun never stops.

Let me show you more rides and experiences for the family.

How was

that?

Good.

Good?

Casper, you kept crashing a lot, didn't you?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I crashed when it was the end.

You crashed at the end?

Well, we'll, uh, hold off getting your driving licenses.

What are you on, Caspian?

Um, a horsey!

What's this ride called?

Um, a carousel!

A carousel!

Caspian really wants to take me on the spinner ride, don't you?

Yeah.

But I don't really want to go on because I feel dizzy and I don't like rides like

that, it makes me feel sick, Casper.

Oh, can I go on it by myself?

No, you can't darling, you have to come with me.

But, what can you do to help me?

Um, eat some food.

Eat some food is going to make me feel sick!

Can you hold my hand?

Okay, you hold my hand.

If you are a big kid then in CBeebiesland take your kids into

Justin's house and enjoy the mayhem.

This chaotic and noisy space is full of soft balls.

And many devices that will fire the balls for you.

So you can have a lot of fun running around, collecting balls and shooting

them at complete strangers, while dodging the balls that are being fired at you.

So we've just stopped for a bite to eat and to spend a penny.

What did we have?

We brought packed lunch, didn't we Casper?

What did you have?

And sandwiches.

And sandwiches, sandwiches.

And we're having some mini cheddars now.

Don't have too many.

And some apples and things I just packed lunch.

A little picnic saves us spending a fortune on fast food.

As you walk around, you should keep your eyes peeled for the

walk around characters, puppets, and interactive entertainment.

One thing I forgot to mention is that it is a fair distance from

the car parks and the hotels to the front gate of the theme park.

So I recommend using the monorail.

If you time it right, then the monorail can save you a long walk back

to your car at the end of the day.

This is fun.

Yeah.

Where are we?

On the monorail.

Choo choo.

Roar!

It's a unibase.

One gem that you shouldn't miss This is the aquarium in Mutiny Bay, where

you will find all sorts of amazing creatures like starfish, stingrays, crabs,

leafcutter ants, jellyfish, and eels.

Right, Caspian, what did we see in the Sea Life Centre?

Fish.

Fish?

Yeah.

Jellyfish.

Oh, jellyfish.

What did you touch?

Starfish.

I touched the crab.

What did it feel like?

Um, so the crab was a bit, um, spiky and the starfish was a bit, um, lumpy.

A bit lumpy.

Did you like touching the starfish?

Yeah.

What did you have to do afterwards?

Wash your hands.

Wash your hands.

Absolutely.

What else did we see in the Sea Life Centre?

Nick?

Nick?

I caught a spider.

You caught a spider?

That was from the Sea Life Centre.

Are we going into the night garden, Caspian?

Yeah, look!

A train track!

If you are feeling brave then you can venture into the spooky woods

and go on the haunted house ride.

Warning.

We now know that it is not for the faint hearted.

Was it good?

Did you like it?

Why not?

It was scary.

What kind of things were scary?

All of it.

All of it?

I wasn't scared.

Yeah, not a good ride for people with big imaginations.

You weren't scared.

I was covering your eyes, wasn't I?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was scared.

Yeah, I scared I shielded you from the scary.

And I looked, I peeped one eye out You peeped one eye out?

And I saw it had a rock Oh ok So we weren't sure whether it was a good

idea to take the children on that ride But we spoke to a few of the

park staff and asked them what they thought And they said it was fine for

Depending on your child They said if they are What about a three year old?

If they are 0.

9 metres high, then they'll be fine.

But they obviously don't have kids, so it wasn't fine for our kids.

They're probably going to have sleepless nights.

We're all going to have sleepless nights.

Wasn't very fine for me, to be honest.

No, you don't like horrors, do you?

No.

Let's hope that we don't have a sleepless night.

Now,

do you get enough English speaking practice?

Do you feel confident when speaking English?

If the answer is no, then you might be interested in taking part in one of my

free conversation classes that's all about increasing your confidence while speaking.

If you're interested, then fill out the form in the description below.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.