Competition: Win a copy of 'Tales from the Towers'

To thank the enthusiast community for their contributions to his new book 'Tales from the Towers', the book's author, Nick Sim, has kindly offered us 2 copies to give away to TowersStreet readers.

To be in with a chance of winning, we’d like you to share your own Tale of the Towers and let us know your favourite memory of Alton Towers. It could be anything from just a few weeks ago or from thirty years ago! You can tell us in words, or even better include a picture from your trip.

We’ll put all entries into a hat and draw two at random, the winners will be contacted by Friday 25th October. We’ll also share a selection of the best entries on TowersStreet. To enter, simply post your memory on the TowersStreet Facebook page or share it in this topic.

Entries need to be in by 8pm Monday 21st October so hurry!

Terms and conditions

- One entry per person
- All entries must be submitted by 8pm on Monday 21st October
- Entries on Facebook can be made either directly onto our wall or by commenting on the post announcing the competition
- Two winners will be drawn at random from all entries received on both Facebook and our forums
- By entering you permit TowersStreet to share your entry on our social media channels and our website and forum
- Posts on Facebook and on the forum have an equal chance of winning – you only need to enter once!
- The decision of the TowersStreet team is final

My most memorable memory is probably Scarefest 2012. It was the first time I'd ever been in a scare maze or any kind of scare attraction really. We went to CoS first and we were around the middle of the group. However, when the fortune teller jumped out, one of my friends got scared and ran to the front. So, we were at the front at my first scaremaze! I remember loving it and feeling a great sense of anticipation before going in The Sanctuary and I found it even better. We were at the back this time and the actors took a particular liking to us! I felt fantastic afterwards like I'd conquered my fear and without doing that, I probably would have never discovered my love of The Dungeon!

I don't have a picture unfortunately but I'll never forget it

2012 saw probably my greatest memory of Towers. Geeking out over SW7 track on the Saturday, 'Million Voices' by Otto Knows being played with the lasers before the show, a surprise turning up on the Saturday evening at the bottom of Towers Street in the shape of Panda, finishing the season on Nemmy's front row (how I started last season and this season as well, for the record)...it was one of those weekends I'll never forget for a very long time. It also marked a year since I started going on meets, which made it all the more poignant for me.

I've had some amazing times at Alton Towers, but my most memorable one was recent, and is very simple.

I work with young people with autism and severe learning difficulties. Some of the young people I support find it very difficult to access activities and have a very limited range of things to do. One in particular, we've found it very difficult to find things he really enjoys. I first took him to Towers in August, and it was unbelievable. He loved it, I've never seen him so happy. He's non-verbal, but the look on his face and his laugh said it all. My colleague and I came off Air almost in tears at how much he loved it. That's absolutely priceless, and the staff at Alton Towers really contributed to the amazing time we all had. ;D

My greatest ever memory of Alton Towers was finally getting to visit the park for the first time.

It was back in 2008. I research all throughout the internet researching the wonderful place in the Staffordshire moorlands; the past, the (then) present, and the future plans at the time, and looking at the maps through countless hours throughout the days. It was a cold morning in May, I got up at around 5 in the morning, but I wasn't tired, I was excited as I was visiting the park for the first time! Me and my friends and family spent 4 hours on the coach from London to Stoke, and as soon I was soon in the Pottery city, I knew I was close to "that place". We got a cab, and I saw the signs for the park, and I was overjoy with excitement. We went in, check over to the hotels and headed on the monorail to park. Overall the B&M monsters that were Air and Nemesis, seeing the beautiful exotic area of Katanga Canyon with the Runaway Mine Train and Congo entertaining other people visiting the park. We got off, headed to Towers Street, got my disabled wristband and headed off to check out the rides.

It was amazing. Spinning around on the Spinball Whizzer, and it'll hold a place in my heart as the first Alton ride that I ever went on. Heading to X Sector, riding and falling in love with Oblivion. Then riding the historical Corkscrew in it's last ever season in operation. I can still feel the headbang to this day!. Off to Forbidden Valley, riding Air and Nemesis for the first time, they were both incredible. And not to mention the other stuff like Rita, RMT, Duel, Congo, Flume, Ripsaw, and many other countless things made it such a wonderful experience visiting the UK's number one theme park for the first time...I'll never forget any of it.

My best memory at Alton Towers was when I was finally able to experience The Smiler and meet the fantastic Gerry Cannell AKA Doctor Kelman. I was very nervous in the queue because that vertical lift hill looked TERRIFYING!

By the time we reached the train me and the other two people with me were very excited. We sat, buzzing with adrenaline about being privileged enough to ride John Wardley's last invention.

As the train dipped to go into the first roll I began to laugh. The Smiler within two seconds was living up to its name. After that we experienced the world's most intense ride experience (sorry Nemesis ) and by the time the train finally came to a halt we were begging for another turn. I will never forget my first experience on The Smiler. Though I used to love Nemesis, nothing compares to the raw adrenaline of John Wardley's finest work.

Now I am a smiling advocate. Smile. Always. :twirly:

My favorite memory would have to be running from the bottom of towers street at 10PM on the first day of summer holidays 2 years ago,getting on the first non ERT train of the day and running ahead of my dad,he was carrying a massive bag with food for the day which slowed him down,When we got to just the goalstriker area he stopped running and shouted at me to carry on,for some reason I decided to shout at the top of my voice "I AINT QUITTING YOU!!!!!!" before starting to run again,I can honestly say when I got to the holding point I was close to screaming.
As soon as I got back,I was hooked and I soon came across a website by the name of Towers times,and I've never looked back

my greatest memory of Alton Towers was on 7th August 2012. The day I first went to AT with my daughter. The look on her face as Nemesis rumbles overhead and the smile as she walk away from the train after her first ride on it. The laugher and the screams of delight as we fly around the track of many AT Coasters that day.

Most of all it the smile on her face as she slept in the passenger seat on the way home. and the enjoyment of sharing Alton Tower with my daughter for the first time.

I have some great memories at Towers. I think for me, one of the best has to be earlier this year when I got into the final run through of The Sanctuary. This is the first time I have ever really experienced anything a bit different to normal park stuff. Once through a frankly phenomenal run through, where the actors, well.... they ramped it up a notch or two shall we say, we ended up outside with the entire crew. My daughter got to meet Dr K, and the entire cast treated us to random renditions of songs they had changed to Sanctuary style lyrics. What made this special, was the clear and obvious bond that team had created, and just how determined they were to make the experience for the guest something they would never forget.

For me, my favourite memory was Fireworks 2011 - I'd never really seen a display set to music and looking over the launch, towards a colourful Towers, just as I'd really started to integrate fully with this fantastic community and had started to make some great friends, was just magical. I still have that playlist on my Spotify!

I got back to where I was staying and I could still feel a tear in my eye - just magic!

Mike said:

For me, my favourite memory was Fireworks 2011 - I'd never really seen a display set to music and looking over the launch, towards a colourful Towers, just as I'd really started to integrate fully with this fantastic community and had started to make some great friends, was just magical. I still have that playlist on my Spotify!

I got back to where I was staying and I could still feel a tear in my eye - just magic!

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Ah, that was my first meet as well - such a brilliant weekend. I was going to put this down as my favourite memory, but thought that 2012 would be the better choice.

Thanks to everyone who entered, I've just pulled two names out of the hat (well, a cornflakes bowl if you must know!). I'm pleased to announce that Mike and TheMan are the lucky winners of the books.

I've dropped you both a PM, if you could reply to let me know your details and I'll arrange to have a copy sent to each of you .

Just wanted to thank everyone for this!

I genuinely did not enter the comp to win, just thought the idea of the topic itself was nice, so a very unexpected bonus!

(I'd have posted this earlier but the topic got locked... by someone... by accident... ;D)

It looks a lovely book and seems well written & full of fabulous info, with TS mentioned in the opening pages, and feeling of high quality!