Many Happy Returns

With names like Master Blaster, Lagoona Bay and Volcano Springs, the Cariba Creek water park at the Alton Tower’s Splash Landings Hotel is still conjuring up as much aquatic excitement as it was when it first switched on the water features ten years ago. On the actual tenth birthday this month, the venue will be staging a suitably spectacular birthday celebration with pool side competitions, a steel band and lots of waterpark giveaways. This Caribbean-themed lagoon offers gallons of excitement for kids of all ages, and is open all year round. As well as the swimming pools, the water park features three indoor slides, five outdoor slides, one of the largest indoor tree houses in Europe and more than 70 individual water activities.

CELEBRITY HUANT

A favourite haunt of celebrities and their families, and with typical bather loads of over 1,000 in peak periods, the filtration systems at the 1,250,000 litre venue have to work overtime to ensure the water is kept in tip-top condition. Later this month, visitors to Cariba Creek could be world record breakers when they take part in an attempt to hold the world’s largest swimming lesson, an event taking place, simultaneously, all over the world, with up to 25,000 participants. The event aims to raise awareness about the importance of water safety and teaching children to swim.

THEME PARK

Based near Alton in Staffordshire, Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England, UK. The resort includes the theme park as well as the Alton Towers Hotel, Splash Landings Hotel, Waterpark, Spa, Extraordinary Golf and Conference Centre. The flagship of Merlin Entertainments, in 2011, it attracted 2.7 million visitors, making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom and ninth most visited theme park in Europe. It employs in excess of 2,000 staff members during the summer months, over 1,000 of which are full-time.