Exploring Alton Towers Stately Home Gardens

Join me as I explore the often overlooked 19th century gardens of Alton Towers in Staffordshire. As promised in the video, if you'd like to see my walkthrough of the ruins of the house, you can find it on my other channel here: • Alton Towers Country H...
Thanks for watching, Adam :)

[@misssmith7225]

I'd never heard of this garden before. It is a dream. Thank you for the video and for being so knowledgeable about this beautiful place.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thanks for your lovely comment. I'm really glad that you enjoyed it and discovered something new. All the best, Adam :)

[@karlmaddox1209]

An absolutely fantastic video. My Grandad was the master potter at Alton Towers from the 1950s until his retirement. I spent many happy hours as a kid up there helping out, so i thought, at the pottery studio which was situated at the back of the Grand Conservatory back in the 1970s.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thanks. That's very kind. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have a few pieces of pottery from the Towers so there is a chance that your family member was responsible for some of them somehow. Many thanks for watching my video and taking the time to leave a message. Adam :)

[@karlmaddox1209]

@@AdamExploresBritain I just bought a piece of Alton towers pottery off ebay that had the monogram AM on the base. My Grandads name was Albert Maddox so I had to buy it lol.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

@@karlmaddox1209 Good find :)

[@longlegs7881]

I cant believe how extensive the gardens are and spread out. I bet back when it was still a beautiful estate, the gardens were something to behold! I really enjoy your videos and how knowledgeable about the estate your visiting. I would love to see a drone shot of how the gardens look from above n laid out. It's so sad the house is in ruin. If it was anything like the gardens it would have been spectacular! Thank you for sharing!

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thank you for your lovely comments, I really appreciate it! Yes, the house would have been absolutely gorgeous back in the 1800s but unfortunately there are only several watercolours of a few room interiors that have survived (that we know of anyway). You can get a good idea of what the decoration would have been like however by looking at rooms in other stately homes done in the same style by the same architects or their protoge's. The colours would have been vibrant and with immense detail in many parts of the house. Thanks again, Adam :)

[@chrisjohnsonadventures]

Cool I enjoyed this tour thank u nice history

[@AdamExploresBritain]

That's very kind, thanks. Really glad you enjoyed it! All the best, Adam :)

[@AdamExploresBritain]

As promised in the video, if you'd like to see my walkthrough of the ruins of the house, you can find it on my other channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpjFoXeGqMxsaNU

[@tinawetzel3912]

Hello Adam. Firstly, I’ve never even heard of Alton Towers (Faulty Towers, yes, haha), but Alton Towers, no. My goodness the gardens were astounding! Every turn was a newer (& sometimes, even better) treasure for the eyes! I was saddened by some areas that were left untouched & became overgrown. I really liked The Collonade of the Muses, The Orangerie, the Oriental looking fountain, the Screw Column, the Sham Bridge, The Conservatory Temple &The Conservatory itself (13,000 pounds 😳🤦🏼‍♀), The Dutch Garden (which I said the exact word just as u were saying when describing it…eclectic, haha… great minds 😉), the water pump amongst the vines, the Pink Lodge (quite interesting tower top that I’d love to be in 😉), the view of the gardens from TheWhite Bridge (breathtaking 🥰), the cool draw bridge, the village of Alton (rather quaint w/ interesting bldgs), The Station Lodge & The Train Station, The charming Swiee Cottage aka The Harpists Cottage, & love the arched Main Entrance. Phew 😮‍💨 that was a lot, but u have shown us a grand one for sure, Adam! Thank u from the bottom of my heart. I throughly enjoyed this one. As I’d stated earlier, every turn produced more & more stunning things for my eyes to feast upon!! Thank u, so incredibly much for bringing us along. Truly spectacular. Take care 😉

[@AdamExploresBritain]

That's so kind of you Tina, and I can see that you were definitely watching very carefully! I'd say that my personal favourites are probably the Pagoda fountain and the Screw fountain, followed by the Prospect Tower and the Grand Conservatories. I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks again for watching and letting me know your thoughts. Take care, Adam :)

[@elizabethcornwell4156]

What a shame that the gardens are in such a state.They must have been fantastic in their hey day,but the upkeep even then must have cost a fortune!!

[@alaahamza62]

I am glad to see my national tree, the Cedar of Lebanon, planted in the UK. However, it saddens me deeply to learn that some of these trees were cut down after 200 years.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

The tree didn't get cut down, it was struck by lightning and destroyed. The Cedar of Lebanon is my favourite tree also. Thanks for watching, Adam :)

[@alaahamza62]

@@AdamExploresBritain i love you videos man keep showing us amazing sites

[@AdamExploresBritain]

I'll do my best. Thanks :)

[@jsullo22]

I appreciate the chapters so we can jump around, good video. Thanks for that

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thanks! However, the chapters are automatically done by KZbin to some videos. Looks like they chose one of mine. There are a couple of spelling mistakes on the chapters as it's done automatically by their speech recognition software magic haha. Thanks for watching, I'm glad you liked it :)

[@pd9935]

Your accent reminds me of home 🥹❤️ love your videos

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thank you, that's so kind. Glad to be of service. Adam :)

[@kirstie-alicebillings-layt5192]

Must keep an eye out for the water pump next time I go!! I've been going for thirty years and still keep finding new things!!

[@AdamExploresBritain]

I only discovered it a few years ago myself. You will have to temporarily look like a bit of a weirdo by walking into the bushes. I suppose most of us are a bit weird anyway though...

[@kirstie-alicebillings-layt5192]

@@AdamExploresBritain I always have my dad with me and he's a massive weirdo, haha!! We found Cuckoo Arbour for the first time a few years ago.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

@@kirstie-alicebillings-layt5192 Is it overgrown again now around there (or when you went)? Not been there for a good while. Maybe it's time for another mission...

[@kirstie-alicebillings-layt5192]

@@AdamExploresBritain Yes, lots of brambles. It was worth it though. Looks like there's been a land slip just after as there's no access to the Steps Walk from there.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

@@kirstie-alicebillings-layt5192 Oh ok. Thanks for the update. Adam :)

[@Jordan_Starr]

Hi Adam! What a lovely sunday afternoon watch. Iove your knowledge of rhe gardens and grounds! So happy i found your channel through your old canal video 🥰 quick question - in the old b&w photo you put up of dolphin lake, it looks like the statue in the middle of the lake is the same statue of an infant Triton that you later show in the colonade section - am i seeing things? I did a side by side and they look identical!

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Well firstly, I'm really glad that you enjoyed it! It's actually one of my favourite videos (I did my history dissertation on the Alton Towers gardens - not that I've actually used the degree for anything actually useful in life). I've not really looked at the similarities between the statue on the dolphin lake and the one at Le Refuge near the colonnade. I had always assumed that the one at Le Refuge was built purposely for that fountain. Maybe I will have to have a look. It's definitely interesting. I can't look at the moment as I'm uploading my video of the opening day of Nemesis Reborn at Towers from yesterday. That will be up by around 9.30 tonight with any luck. I'm going to have a look at what you've said about the statues, when my pc has finished uploading that vid. Thanks for your lovely comments again. I definitely remember you from the Alton Canal vid. Adam :)

[@Jordan_Starr]

@@AdamExploresBritain is your dissertation anywhere online I could read? I'd love to learn more! A history degree is never a waste of a degree though - knowledge of our past always helps our future. Plus it helped you make this video so it was useful for that! Also, I think Alton towers should pay you commission because since watching this I've been messaging my best friend about planning a trip there in the summer :) I haven't been for so long! It's a shame they don't allow entrance just to the gardens for a lower price (or at least if they do, the website doesn't say)

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Yeah, you should definitely go this year. Nemesis is looking fresh too! My dissertation is not online, but if you want a copy you can message or add me on Facebook (the details should be on my channel info page for this channel). Alternatively, I could email it to you. There are probably some things in the video not mentioned in the dissertation and vice versa.

[@Wanamaker1946]

The Wall fountain was a Horse trough.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thanks for that. I thought it looked likely :)

[@michaelburgess9707]

Thanks for this. I really enjoy your videos and the research you do. After watching and being dismayed at the state of some of the gardens I did my own research and although you obscured the amusement park apparently it's the 9th largest in the world. It's owned by a multibillion dollar conglomerate and it's a shame the gardens, canals and fountains have been left to deteriorate. There will never be another place like this. Rollercoasters are a dime a dozen, and shame on the Earls of Shrewsbury for letting the house go to ruin, apparently the current Lord has been suspended from House of Lords due to corruption, perhaps it runs in the family, thanks again.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Thanks for your lovely comments about my videos Michael, it's very encouraging. Yeah, I love Alton Towers and always enjoyed going to the theme park most years growing up and into adulthood. Then in my late teens/early 20s I started to really get into the history of the house and especially the gardens. It was like they were totally ignored but when you scratch under the surface there is just so much to find out about the whole estate. You would enjoy a book called 'Alton towers: A Gothic Wonderland' or 'Alton Towers: Past & Present'. 'Past and Present' is the updated version of 'Gothic Wonderland' and just pretty much has an extra little chapter about developments since the earlier book. It's an amazing read for anyone into the history of the place. be careful not to get the little booklet version of 'Past and Present' which is only around 20 pages, make sure to get the full book of hundreds of pages. The more recent one is usually more expensive than the older one, but they pretty much do the same job (and I prefer the cover on the older one, haha). But yeah, the main damage was done to the house when some local businessmen bought the estate after WW2 and stripped the lead from the roofs and basically sold anything of any value that was left in the house like fittings, timber etc and obviously that was the final straw with rain getting in and causing much destruction (they also allegedly started a fire inside one wing of the house just to get rid of debris which caused even more destruction). In the 80s when the theme park was begun the new owner/chairman of Alton Towers re-roofed some areas of the Towers and put in new floors which had previously been destroyed, meaning that it is actually possible to walk around the ruins these days if and when they ever open them to the public, which is hardly ever these days (but that's for another day haha). I really appreciate you taking the time to watch my vids and I'm really glad that you enjoy them enough to further explore places such as Alton. Again, I really recommend the book. All the best, Adam :)

[@michaelburgess9707]

@@AdamExploresBritain Keep up the good work. I did find a paperback version, collectors landmark edition, on a website but it was selling for over 103.00 here in the US, thanks for the advice, on my next trip to UK I was wanting to tour the obscure, perhaps, forgotten country houses. I also watched your inside tour, so sad. Nothing there, but I bet it is a great haunted house at Halloween. Cheers.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

@@michaelburgess9707 They do put on a decent Halloween event actually with night time rollercoaster riding haha. Enjoy your next trip whenever it is. Adam :)

[@restowagenuk]

Adam, thank you for this great video. I can remember from visiting the theme park as a teen in the 80’s and early 90’s and in amongst have a great time on rides with my mates Inwas impressed with the house and what I could see of the grounds at the time. I actually returned with my partner and 14 and 9 year old last week for a three day stay in the Resort Hotel, aware of the history and a catch up of Wikipedia helped me merely glimpse at some of the History and Gardens whilst the main aim was of course the rides and amusements. However, your video is fantastic and a great insight into what I wish I hadn’t missed and hopefully can return to see again soon (we happened to have a brilliant three days thankfully) What a stunning area of England and an interesting history, as others have mentioned, the Estate is Incredibly impressive, the house itself appears particularly impressive, and perhaps, we have the owners of the Theme Park in its various guises to thank for the access and buildings that do remain. I would imagine many thousands of visitors think the same as myself and perhaps other viewers, I wonder if a big Euro Millions Jackpot win would be enough to reinstate roofs, floors, fittings and bring life back to the wonderful house…..

[@AdamExploresBritain]

@@restowagenuk Thanks for sharing your memories and thoughts, and thanks for watching my video and your kind comment about it! Very much appreciated. It really is a gorgeous area of the country in general. As for the gardens, I'm sure you'll make it back to have a better look around one day. It can be interesting going back after some time also as they tend to clear different areas in different years so you might go back and the canal for example could have been cleared of reeds etc and it could be lovely mirror-like water. Who knows? They did have the pagoda and screw fountains working again a few years back too which was nice. It just changes over time. The house is a strange one. They seem to open it less and less over time. It's been closed all year this year which is pretty outrageous. The only way I can see it being restored to any decent extent would be in many years after the theme park is gone and maybe some organisation like the National Trust takes it over. The owners of Alton Towers don't have the desire or budget to put towards any large restoration of the house unfortunately. It's a beauty though. Thanks again, Adam :)

[@sophisticatedswine7172]

IT IS SO SAD THAT THE TOWERS NOW IS ONLY A SHELL OF ITSELF. DUE TO THE INFIGHTING BETWEEN TWO RELATIVES, WHO BOTH CLAIMED THEY WERE HEIRS TO THE ESTATE, DRAINED THE ESTATE FUNDS DRY DUE TO THE LEGAL FEES AND THEN SELLING OFF THE INTERIOR FITTINGS AND LEAD ROOF ONLY TO LEAVE THE SHELL STANDING! ;O(

[@AdamExploresBritain]

It is indeed a real shame! Although (allegedly) it was the Bagshaws who stripped the lead from the roofs and also ripped out a lot of timber from the floors etc (I think that's what you meant though). Obviously, as you say, long before that it was the family dispute that went through the courts that initially led to the downfall of the estate. Thanks for watching, much appreciated, Adam :)

[@IMHAVINHOOPS]

I hope Merlin are never allowed to build on the gardens and what remains of the buildings. Our history is so important and we’re losing too much of it.

[@AdamExploresBritain]

Absolutely. They are protected by listed status though, so thankfully that shouldn't happen :)