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Co Armagh company over the moon as their stargazing pods site set to open at Alton Towers

Newtownhamilton company designs and builds 102 pods to bring out-of-this-world accommodation to UK's top theme park

Stargazing Pods

The UK’s premier family theme park is to get a whole new added dimension – thanks to a Co Armagh company’s stunning craftsmanship.

And you could say it’s quite literally out of this world!

Stargazing pods – 102 of them to be precise – are being installed at Alton Towers.

And they have made the journey from south Armagh, where they were specially designed and manufactured in a factory on the Markethill Road, just outside Newtownhamilton.

The stunning pods are part of a £1 million accommodation project.

And the company behind the fantastic addition is Hawthorne Forest Products Ltd.

Over the past number of months, the pods were transported to the site in Staffordshire and installed.

In consultation with Merlin Entertainments, Hawthorne Forest Products Ltd designed and built the pods off site.

Merlin Entertainments PLC are the second largest entertainment company in the world and their portfolio includes attractions such as Madame Tussauds, Legoland and London Dungeons.

Hawthorne Forest Products Ltd are proud to have been involved in this brilliant project and are hoping for further collaborations and exciting news in the not-too-distant future.

Alton Towers will now boast the largest pod site in the UK and one of the largest in Europe thanks to the team on site in Newtown.

The site officially opens in April and is already proving a huge hit, with advance bookings and further pods planned at other destinations throughout the UK and Europe.

Hawthorne Forest Products Ltd are quite literally ‘over the moon’ at completing the stargazing pods and with the feedback and response to date.

Managing director David Hawthorne told Armagh I : “We were delighted to work with Merlin Entertainments on such a great project at one of the top tourist attractions in the UK.

“To now see the project complete and know it was made in Newtownhamilton is a proud moment for our company.

“Despite current economic uncertainty we are now looking forward to building our relationship with Merlin and working on some more iconic projects throughout the UK and Europe.”

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