Today is the final day of The Corkscrew at Alton Towers, the UK and Europe's first flip over rollercoaster.

Was surprised to learn it is 28 years old but I went there this summer and realised how bland it is with the new generation of coasters and thrill rides around today.

My best memory though is the very first time I went to Alton Towers specifically to ride on The Corkscrew. I set off with my brother in my mini long before SatNav, internet and Alton Towers was a well known venue. We stopped at Severn Bridge services at silly o'clock in the morning, looked at an atlas and found Alton on a map.

Got there for breakfast time but there was no sign of a theme park or any signs directing us to the place so we called in the village petrol station for help and discovered we were in Alton near Basingstoke in Hampshire when Alton Towers is near Stoke!

Doh! We made it later that day, they let us in cheap as the park closed an hour later and we got on the Corkscrew. Sh*te myself then, wonder why now. Times move on eh?