Participants from across the country were asked to choose their most favoured counties across a number of criteria including natural beauty, weather, tourist attractions and cleanliness. Cornwall was most popular and scored highly across the set of criteria with Devon coming in a close second. Almost three quarters of those polled expressed an interest in visiting Cornwall in the coming year citing it as best for hospitality, scenic views and containing the nicest towns and villages. Neighbouring county Devon was the second favourite in these categories while Cumbria came in third overall while being named best for wildlife but was a less favourable destination due to its unsettled weather. Merseyside and West Midlands were named as counties that suffered from a lack of natural beauty.
When asked how Britain’s natural beauty compared to that of the rest of Europe, 87% of people believed the British landscape was as scenic as or better than the mainland. The main reasons put forward that might put tourists off from visiting the British Isles were weather, high costs of transport and the exchange rate.
Malcolm Bell of VisitCornwall comments: “Our visitors are consistently telling us that it is the quality of Cornwall’s natural environment that attracts them here and it is fantastic that this survey not only backs that up but recognises Cornwall’s beauty as being above and beyond that of any other destination. Any visitor to the county can’t fail to be visually impressed; Cornwall’s unique location is undoubtedly one of our greatest assets and is a invaluable unique selling point.”
The top 5 most scenic counties in Britain:
- Cornwall (65% of the vote)
- Devon
- Cumbria
- North Yorkshire
- Dorset
