Corkscrew was a steel roller coaster made by Vekoma of the Netherlands. The coaster was located in the Ug Land area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. It was the park's oldest ride and as one of the first British steel coasters, as well as one of the first double-looping coasters in Europe (the first in Britain), received much publicity in the 1980s. However during the latter years of its operation, the ride became notorious for jerking riders' heads and necks in the firm headrests - riders often complained of slight neck pains after riding.
In October 2008, Alton Towers confirmed that the ride was to be dismantled at the end of the 2008 season, allegedly to make room for something 'bigger and better'. The park held a special event in honour of its oldest attraction on 9 November 2008, on which day, the Corkscrew completed the final circuit of its 730m track. The official date for the last day in regular service was 2 November 2008 - the last day of the season. The nearby Ug Swinger (chair-o-planes ride) was also relocated to Cloud Cuckoo Land and renamed Twirling Toadstools, making way for a roller coaster, Thirteen.
One of the coaster's cars was put on eBay by Alton Towers to raise money for charity and was sold on 15 December 2008 for £7,200. Then, in 2010, the corkscrews were removed from storage and refurbished in time for the park's opening weekend. They were repainted purple and erected as a new artwork feature in the entrance plaza.
The opening title sequence used by The ITV Chart Show between January 1989 and November 1991 was created by digitally rotoscoping footage of the Corkscrew. A photograph of the Corkscrew was used on the cover of the 1991 single Everybody in the Place by The Prodigy
