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Make the Gardens a future attraction once more

ATR1991

ATR1991

TS Member
Okay so ive been watching the amazing/informative videos by Altontowersmemories on youtube...
Gothic Temple - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_uREeH0IPU#
Conservatory - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zBkXcSH0f4#ws
The Dovecote/Pigeon House - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuujAIwrcs0#
Pagoda Fountain- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0LDqm52t5Y#

How hard would it be to restore the remaining garden features, and actually put information boards next to them explaining what they are and there history. Even with the possibility of reopening some (Gothic Temple, The Dovecote/Pigeon House). I watched the video about the Dovecote/Pigeon house and when it was cleared in 2007 the space around it would make a perfect picnic area with benches/tables and put in information boards it would make a really nice area to relax. It also wouldn't have to stop at the Gardens, the rooms in the towers could have information boards with pictures explaining what they used to be for/how they used to look. It would definitely add something extra aswell as the rides and would give people the opportunity to delve more into the history of the estate.
I know some may say the cost, okay but surely its not that expensive to make up some information boards, to start with. Then over time refurbish parts of the gardens. If there was more information around it would make people more interested to look around and read about these areas as at the moment people don't always know what they actually are. Thoughts??
 
Would love to see this happen but I can't see AT doing so. Merlin seam only interested in spending money which will make them money and I can't see how this would make them money.

Sad but indeed, true. :(
 
In a way, Merlin is doing their bit to keep the gardens looking good. Anyone who looks after a garden will know that it doesn't take a lot of neglect for a garden to run away and to look awful, so in that light... The gardens are really quite well kept.

As for the buildings themselves, I remember being told that they can't be altered or refurbished from their current state because of their protection status. ie, they're protected in the state they're currently in.

That's the deal with the towers at least, so I'd assume that the gardens are a similar story.

As for adding info boards... that could be nice to have that extra bit of history there for those who want it, but again... it's another investment that most park goers would never give a second look.
 
Welcome to the forum my friend. You seem to have found some of my vid's from a few years ago. Many thanks for sharing them on the forum. It may sound silly but I've actually not watched some of them for quite a while. It's always good to see the Pagoda Fountain in working order with water going all over the place (as it's been out of action for quite a while now).

Make sure you stick around and also stay interested in the history of the place. I can tell you obviously are already. I agree with your thoughts on signage in certain parts of the house and gardens. I've always thought it myself but I do worry that vandals may destroy signs in certain remote areas. Also, I do think that more use could be made of the Dovecote area.
 
Ive always thought it a shame that the gardens aren't used enough.

A few years back during the winters you could take a walk from the hotels into the gardens and then back. It was a great idea, but badly executed and ended with guests wandering into the closed park. Shame.
 
JonoD said:
In a way, Merlin is doing their bit to keep the gardens looking good. Anyone who looks after a garden will know that it doesn't take a lot of neglect for a garden to run away and to look awful, so in that light... The gardens are really quite well kept.

As for the buildings themselves, I remember being told that they can't be altered or refurbished from their current state because of their protection status. ie, they're protected in the state they're currently in.

That's the deal with the towers at least, so I'd assume that the gardens are a similar story.

As for adding info boards... that could be nice to have that extra bit of history there for those who want it, but again... it's another investment that most park goers would never give a second look.
Click to expand...

Surely if Alton Towers wanted to refurbish the buildings in the gardens it would be done the same way as the conservatory. As long as it was done to look like the original standard. But i do feel some guest do have an interest in the history, and it would add another area for the resort guests to look into during there stay and i have seen people wondering what buildings are. Hopefully they'll see some work done in future.

Another idea would be during closed season advertise House & Garden Tours, i remember reading that you could book this but sometimes people prefer to do things at there own pace. If the gardens were closed off properly and you were given a map with the areas highlighted you could enter via the hotel and look around. same could work for the towers. During the normal season the guests how stay at the resort could have something else to do, "The history trail of Alton Towers" Discover the glory days of the historic house & gardens. They get given a map and all information points are numbered and can walk around at there own pace and delve into the history of the estate.
 
The problem with the gardens is the guests. The conservatories had to be locked due to vandalism and people using them for drug dens. Unfortunately, some of the general public who visit the gardens dont have much respect for them, so putting up information signs etc wiould just result in vandalism eventually.

I love the gardens and have fond memories of them, and I appreciate Alton doing their best to try and keep the gardens tidy as they can, but it annoys me so much when you see litter scattered over the place. I agree a lot could be done with the gardens to make them more of an attraction, but it would need full time staff patrols around them to ensure mindless idiots dont wreck them.

As for tours, I think it was about 6 years ago I went up for NYE party in the hotels. I was given a leaflet about the gardens and all the attractions as they were open to the hotel guests. I have memories of walking around the park, and the gardens on NY day just the two of us, no one else, it was surreal, but the guide we were given gave a history of the gardens and all there was to see.

The first step into making the gardens more of an attraction in my eyes would be to reopen the Swiss cottage and turn it into a coffee shop / cafe where people can sit and admire the views.
 
Vandalism is one of the issues that prevents money being spent on this sort of thing, additional staff would need to be hired to maintain the signage and check that all the areas are safe.

Then there is the H&S issue of advertising the house and gardens more, meaning more people visit and means there is a greater chance of people injuring themselves or doing things they shouldnt be.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWNTDMcDnaw#ws I think they should or possibly be forced this stately home is history and gives a good contrast to the theme park you could also use the house for special events could you imagine the house restored and used for gala dinners at Christmas, weddings, masquerade's or classical music concerts just a few ideas of the top of my head be good to keep some English culture going
 
ive just thought of another event burlesque could go down well and provide some good entertainment to grown ups staying at the hotel
 
At the end of the day, it's a theme park before it's a ruin with some listed gardens. The Towers and the Gardens provide some excellent history and they are damn unique but I don't think the park really needs to do much more than they are already.

Regular investment and upkeep is planned for both the ruins and the gardens and they do what they can within their budgets. Although it would be nice to see the gardens used more, I don't really know what would actually be doable to attract people down there. After all, the vast majority of guests to the park are not really that interested in them anyway.

As for the Towers themselves, various restoration or maintenance projects are usually in progress to keep them maintained. The house itself is a shell though really (in the bits that are safe to look in) due to previous history of the site and therefore doing any work to restore areas would be incredibly expensive for the use it would get.

Just my thoughts anyway.


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to be fair i don't actually know that much about the history just chucking out some thoughts i had on what could be done out of season and in season (burlesque shows for adults at the hotel) but you have to agree it would be quite cool if they did do some proper restoration would be like giving something back.
 
I dont think i would want the rooms to be restored in the towers, the cost would be astronimical and if were been honest, the towers becoming a ruin is part of its history. I dont mind parts like the conservatory as that helped to keep another part from dereliction. Some information boards like what they have now (wooden boards) was what i had in my mind, and if they ever brought a "history of alton towers" walk/trail it would allow guests to find out more about the estates history. The gardens would work best by bringing parts back into use that may benefit guests to begin with e.g: turn the Dovecote/Pigeon house grounds into a picnic area, and information boards would create a relaxing area to enjoy dinner and also read about the history of the building in front of you. Other areas may be worked on over time, e.g: garden conservatory, pagoda fountain.. as people have said they aren't noticed as much however could be included in a history trail, and history trail map with info board. Just feel it would add something a bit different to the resort, and wouldn't have to mean massive refurbishments in one go. Could even start with just the towers ruins with new boards and see how well they are taken by guests then move onto the gardens depending on how well it works
 
The thing is... They do restore parts all the time. The gardens regularly receive upkeep and the towers receive maintenance and restoration too. Large parts are usable (hence why the scare mazes are set inside the ruins) but restoring them to their original glory would simply be a task far too big and expensive. Before Alton Towers opened as a theme park the Towers were stripped and left to rot so any work that is done now is a lot of effort and costly too.

The park usually do work alongside installing a major ride anyway as it appeases planning officers. Anyway, I still think the park do enough as it is. Yes it would be cool to see more use of the gardens but I don't really think the current clientele of the park would appreciate them enough to warrant doing so.
 
I drew up designs for information boards in the house when I did my A Level work with Towers but I was told that they would never happen due to cost and upkeep. I know a few other people have also tried to get boards in the house after I asked.
 
I guess they just don't feel it is worth the cost or time etc.

And you know what, they are probably right.
 
But if they were to do it they could be used as part of a walking tour in winter weekends (like how the gardens used to be, but more organised).

Actually between a nice walk from ATH into the gardens, a self guided house tour then a nip into Sharkbait Beef (as its open every 'feature' weekend) would be a great way for guests to spend a little time.
 
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