Craigieboy Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Looking for a bit help here guys. Im taking the family to Alton Towers in the spring. I was planning on leaving on a Sunday & breaking the back of the journey, maybe a bit over half way. Then stopping off in a nice little town or city to stay over night. Then on the monday, resume the journey & get to Alton Towers. I've been there before but it was a bus journey & I was 17. Anyone got any ideas if you have done this before yourself? Thanks . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Looking for a bit help here guys. Im taking the family to Alton Towers in the spring. I was planning on leaving on a Sunday & breaking the back of the journey, maybe a bit over half way. Then stopping off in a nice little town or city to stay over night. Then on the monday, resume the journey & get to Alton Towers. I've been there before but it was a bus journey & I was 17. Anyone got any ideas if you have done this before yourself? Thanks . When we went we stayed in Cheadle. It's a small town with some decent places to stay and eat. It's about 15 minute drive to Alton Towers from there. No idea what hotel we stayed in though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr God Awful Ugly Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Alton Towers was the first stop off on my families camping trip to France last year. I suggest you just drive straight to where you are staying in the Alton Towers area. Distance doesn't really merit breaking up the journey imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigieboy Posted December 26, 2009 Author Share Posted December 26, 2009 When we went we stayed in Cheadle. It's a small town with some decent places to stay and eat. It's about 15 minute drive to Alton Towers from there. No idea what hotel we stayed in though. Thanks M. We have our accomodation sorted out next to AT. The place I am looking for has to be about half way between Edinburgh & AT. Somewhere to stay the night & spend a wee bit time in. Sorry, I didn't make that clear. I just don't want to do the full journey in one day. The kids wouldn't toletrate it, not to mention the wife who will be a bit on the heavy side by then! Cheers. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Thanks M. We have our accomodation sorted out next to AT. The place I am looking for has to be about half way between Edinburgh & AT. Somewhere to stay the night & spend a wee bit time in. Sorry, I didn't make that clear. I just don't want to do the full journey in one day. The kids wouldn't toletrate it, not to mention the wife who will be a bit on the heavy side by then! Cheers. . I should have read your post properly. I would just get there to be honest. It's only around a 3 or 4 hour drive. But if you are wanting somewhere halfway why not stop in the Lake district. Plenty of choice there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigieboy Posted December 26, 2009 Author Share Posted December 26, 2009 I should have read your post properly. I would just get there to be honest. It's only around a 3 or 4 hour drive. But if you are wanting somewhere halfway why not stop in the Lake district. Plenty of choice there. Oh right. I was told it was about a 5, 6 hour drive. I'll see what they think. Lake District sounds good though. It'd be nice to see some different places on the way down. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Oh right. I was told it was about a 5, 6 hour drive.I'll see what they think. It is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigieboy Posted December 26, 2009 Author Share Posted December 26, 2009 It is. Lol. Theres no way I'm doing a 6 hour drive with 2 moaning kids, a wife, a dog & a demanding goldfish. No way. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Lol. Theres no way I'm doing a 6 hour drive with 2 moaning kids, a wife, a dog & a demanding goldfish. No way. . In theory it around 5 hours if the M6 is clear with no roadworks etc, but it is actually a bit longer in reality as the section between Stoke and Alton Towers is a bit slow and can get pretty clogged up if it's busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boof Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 According to the AA route planner it's 4h 58min and more or less half way is Tebay (Westmorland) Service Area. I guess if nothing comes up from here you could Google to see what's available. No idea if it's anywhere near Lancaster, but we broke a Stirling-Stoke journey by going there in the summmer. Quite a nice wee place but Satnav was a must to get out again Edit - the Lancaster break was just for an hour or two - not an over-nighter. Edit again...I took the Edinburgh start point as the Castle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 I'm forgetting your heading from Edinburgh. I can get to Carlisle in 1 hour from my house and then a few more hours down the M6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randle P McMurphy Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 According to the AA route planner it's 4h 58min and more or less half way is Tebay (Westmorland) Service Area. I guess if nothing comes up from here you could Google to see what's available. No idea if it's anywhere near Lancaster, but we broke a Stirling-Stoke journey by going there in the summmer. Quite a nice wee place but Satnav was a must to get out again Edit - the Lancaster break was just for an hour or two - not an over-nighter. Edit again...I took the Edinburgh start point as the Castle Best service station in the uk at tebay though it is probably even dearer than the rest. Lancaster is not too far from there. Kendal is a nice wee place too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miller Jambo 60 Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Best service station in the uk at tebay though it is probably even dearer than the rest. Lancaster is not too far from there. Kendal is a nice wee place too. Agree mate, but hes better getting an advanced booking as Kendal is busy. Stopped there on route to France in 03 but ended going to Windermere where we were lucky to get a bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
269miles Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Oh right. I was told it was about a 5, 6 hour drive. I'll see what they think. Lake District sounds good though. It'd be nice to see some different places on the way down. . I live 40 mins from Alton Towers. You should be able to do it in 4.5 hours , 5 max. But beware , there are LOADS of 50 mph stretches all down the M6 virtually from the border all the way to Stoke and it does make a difference at the moment. Alton Towers probably are correct to say it will take 5-6 hours because of that (if you're driving 'legally'). appreciate you are going in the spring but if the roadworks are still in force it will make a difference. You shouldn't really need to split the journey out - if you did you'd be staying at Carlisle , distance wise - if you're willing to put your foot down Edit : Someone mentioned Tebay as being halfway to AT. I've actually stayed at the Tebay Lodge Hotel at the services as a result of a breakdown a few years ago and it wasn't bad - a bit remote tho . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby_swing_the_bar Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Lancaster is a not bad wee place to stop. There's a decent Travel lodge just off the Motorway. Plenty pubs/restaurants in town. Also got the castle and canal to wander around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabbie754 Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 When I went to Alton Towers in about 90-91 I stayed in Derby, can't remeber why as it's still a bit of a drive to Alton Towers from there, must have been a good bargain on hotel! The funny thing is that staff in the hotel told us about another place for kids to the north of Derby called Gullivers Kingdom in Matlock Bath and we went there on the way back home. Depending on the age of your children IMHO Gullivers Kingdom is better if you have primary school age kids than Alton Towers. If you have teenagers then Alton Towers is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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