Yahoo News Alton Towers swan sells for huge sum despite £500k eBay bid being withdrawn
A plastic swan that once graced the lake at Alton Towers has sold for more than £25,000 after being listed on eBay.
The boat made up one of around a dozen that used to glide across the water at the theme park between 1987 and 2003. But the owner decided to part ways with the swan, which had been sitting in a garden in Leek.
After being placed on eBay, the swan sparked a bidding frenzy and at one point the price had reached £500,000. But it seems bidders dropped out before the auction came to a close yesterday evening (April 27).
It eventually went for £25,100. Another swan has now appeared on eBay with a price of £25,000 but is yet to attract any bids.
Alton Towers fan Graham Langley missed out on taking the swan home after putting in an offer pf £500.
Graham, 39, told StokeonTrentLive: "I remember them being in the adverts. The swan, in my eyes, was the icon of Alton Towers and they had about a dozen of them in the lake where Mutiny Bay is now. The adverts were very gloomy, and then you saw these swans, and they were amazing. I’ve been on the hunt for one for years. There’s one at a pub somewhere up there, but I believe they were all just sold off at a local auction."
According to the listing, the swan measures five by two metres and can carry up to six people. The seller has suggested it would make an ideal planter, or seating. The swan was originally listed the swan on Facebook, with no luck but the bids started rolling in as soon as it was listed on eBay.
Graham, a collector of film memorabilia from Berkshire, says he is a 'massive fan' of the North Staffordshire theme park, adding: "I was 13 or 14 when I first went. I’ve been hooked since then. There’s something about Alton Towers, a certain magic and majesty about the place. There’s no other place like it."
He almost bid on a log from Alton Towers’ log flume last month, but the swan took priority. He said: “The stuff that sells on eBay is just ludicrous. They’ve just revamped Nemesis, for instance, and one bolt from Nemesis can sell for up to £800. I should imagine there were tens of thousands of bolts on it."
