Happy Birthday To Me

Growing old or growing up? It's all in the mind. You're never too old to enjoy the simple pleasures in life like taking a day off work and having a lie in.

Having begun at a very leisurely pace, Siân and I continued this by taking a drive north to stay in the beautiful Manor House Farm. Once again, thanks to Alistair Sawday, we had struck gold and found ourselves welcomed into Chris and Margaret's fine Jacobean home in the most idyllic of settings. It's difficult to understate the appeal of a place like this, but for the same price as staying in a Travelodge just outside Stoke I guess you pay your money and make your choice!

Of course, the real reason for staying in the lap of luxury was that it is located a mere 3 miles from Alton Towers. Once we'd had our fill of cooked breakfast we headed off to join the masses. In truth the Towers were not overly busy and we experienced virtually no queueing and sunshine virtually all day long too! Favourite ride is still Nemesis closely followed by Oblivion. Rita: Queen of Speed is truly fast (0-100mph in 3 secs) and Air is a great experience too. Ripsaw gets you damp but nothing beats the Rapids or Flume for an all over soaking!

All in all it was a great trip and a Birthday treat to remember. Till next year maybe...