What to See in Tamworth - Top Sights and Attractions

Roller coaster in Mile Oak, England. G Force was a roller coaster at Drayton Manor Theme Park, Tamworth, England. It was the only X-Car coaster in the UK and was opened by the band G4 in 2005. The ride was also the third X-Car coaster to be built in the world, the first being the prototype Sky Wheel at Skyline Park in Germany and the second being X Coaster at Magic Springs. Another unique aspect of the X-Car coaster is the inverted lift, known as the humpty-bump lift. Unlike a conventional inclined lift, the lift on is similar to a standard vertical loop. At the top of the lift, riders are suspended upside down and the train is released to traverse two more inversions, including an immelman loop and a bent Cuban eight. The ride was originally called Project X but changed to G Force before the coaster's opening. The coaster closed in October 2018 after extensive downtime during the 2018 season. The park stated the maintenance cost for the coaster was too expensive and therefore the decision was to close the ride. As of January 2020, the ride had been removed and was in storage at the rear of the park. It is now in storage somewhere in the Netherlands.^[2]

Theme park in Mile Oak, England. Thomas Land is a themed area at Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire, England, based on the popular long-running children's television series, Thomas & Friends. It stands on the former site of Robinsons Land, a themed area sponsored by the soft drinks brand of the same name. The construction began while the park was still open in September 2007, and many of the Robinsons Land rides were moved to other areas of the park for the remainder of the season. Many of the rides housed in Robinsons Land except the Veteran Cars were sold to Funland in Hayling Island. Thomas Land officially opened to the public on 15 March 2008. An expansion of Thomas Land with additional attractions and private party rooms opened on 8 April 2015.^[3]

Building in England. Middleton Hall is a Grade II* listed building dating back to medieval times. It is situated in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England, south of Fazeley and Tamworth and on the opposite side of the A4091 road to Middleton village.

The Manor of Middleton was held by the de Freville family until 1418 and came to the Willoughbys by virtue of the marriage of heiress Margaret de Freville to Sir Hugh Willoughby. The Willoughbys had extensive estates in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere, their principal seat being Wollaton Hall, Nottingham.

In the mid-17th century the hall was home to Francis Willughby, the mathematician and naturalist, and his descendants the Middleton barons. The hall was also for a time the home of the parson-naturalist John Ray. The Georgian west wing dates from the late 18th century. In 1812 the estates and the barony passed to Henry Willoughby of the Birdsall, Yorkshire branch of the family and Middleton declined in importance in family terms. The Middleton and Wollaton estates were sold in the 1920s.

The hall was allowed to fall into disrepair over many years and since 1980 has been restored by a charitable trust. Much work has been done on the main hall, walled garden, Tudor barn complex (now craft shops) and a 16th-century jettied building, which was close to collapse before restoration commenced. The stables and lodging block are on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register due their poor condition.

The surrounding 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land include two walled gardens, the largest man-made lake in Warwickshire, much woodland and Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve.^[7]

Town in England. Fazeley is an industrial town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. Fazeley is located on the outskirts of Tamworth and the civil parish of Fazeley also includes Mile Oak and Bonehill. Fazeley forms part of the Tamworth Built-up area.

It sits astride the junction of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and Coventry Canal; at Fazeley Junction are a couple of multi storey mills. Fazeley is also adjacent to Drayton Manor, formerly the home of Robert Peel and now a theme park and zoo.

The First Annual Fazeley Festival and Mile Oak Mile Charity hop took place on 15 September 2007.

Sitting in the centre of Fazeley, the Town Hall opened in 1898 and was named the Victoria Memorial Hall, commemorating the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, and James Eadie paid for both the cost of its construction, £3,000, and the land on which it stands, having signalled his intentions in this respect in 1896.

James Eadie intended that the Hall should benefit the inhabitants of Fazeley and help to promote their welfare. His vision was that the Hall would be used for public meetings, lectures and concerts and contain reading rooms. He even speculated that technical classes might some day be held "for the better training of workmen in their several crafts and industries."

This vision became a reality, meetings of all descriptions took place and winter entertainments were regularly well attended. There was a library and a reading room, classes were held in gymnastics and cookery, and an Evening Continuation School in horticulture attracted over 40 youngsters. In later years, silent movies were presented here, too.^[9]