Ashbourne is the perfect place to base yourself for visiting the world famous Alton Towers theme park. Take the whole family to enjoy the thrill rides, children's rides and beautiful gardens. Or drop the kids off by the entrance and come back to pick them up later. 

A visit will take all day so allow yourself plenty of time and try and arrive early. If you can afford it, its worth the extra price of the queue-jump tickets.

Alton Towers is around 9 miles away. Head out of Ashbourne along the A52 in the direction of Leek and follow the brown tourist road signs.

Don't take any short-cuts suggested by your satnav as these may take you down very narrow rods and farm tracks and they may also bring you to the wrong entrance.

There is a seasonal bus service once a day normally running between April and September and again over Halloween. This page on the Alton Towers website has a link to the timetable.

Its a lovely cycle ride but you won't have time to also have time to visit the theme park.