FactFile

  Opened - 1980
  Closed - 2008
  Manufacturer - Vekoma
  Length - 750 Metres
  Weight - 350 Tonnes
  Height - 23 Metres
  Duration - 90 seconds
  Capacity per train - 24
  Capacity per hour - 1400
  Speed - 65kmph
  Height Restrictions - Over 1.2m

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The Corkscrew was installed in 1980 by John Broome, at the time it was Alton Towers biggest ride and Europe’s first double 'corkscrew coaster'. For years it sat un-themed in Festival Park, until Ug Land opened in 1999. When it was re-themed, not much was done to the ride, the cars were painted, the queue was diverted and the surroundings were re-themed. In 2005 and because of Rita - Queen Of Speed opening right next to it, Corkscrew had a new paint job, but remained it's classic yellow and the queue lines were yet again moved to intertwine with Rita's. The main change though was the entrance to Corkscrew being moved to the far end of Ug Land where the Bone Shaker had once stood.

The ride started with a slow climbing lift hill, painted green to camouflage it with the surrounding treetops. Once at the top the red carriages turned around 180 degrees in a small dip, offering spectacular views across the Staffordshire Moorlands. After another drop and turn the carriages were put through 2 corkscrews in a row, turning riders upside down twice. A flash of photography and then several helixes and turns led the ride into the brakes and back to the station.

In its later years the ride was quite rough, though this seemed to vary day by day, and indeed in its last days of operation it offered up some of the most gloriously smooth rides many of its riders had ever experienced upon it. Towards the end of 2008 it became apparent that the ride was coming to the end of its life and the park had taken the tough decision to remove the iconic ride that was what had originally put Alton Towers on the theme park map.