Britannia tops poll of historic visitor gems across the UK
● Queen’s former yacht praised by consumer group
The Royal Yacht Britannia has been rated as Britain’s favourite historical attraction, besting the likes of Stonehenge and the Tower of London in a nationwide survey.
The survey, carried out by the consumer magazine, Which?, placed the Queen’s former yacht at the top of a list of 50 leading visitor attractions.
Britannia, now one of the centrepieces in Edinburgh’s tourism offering, once sailed to 144 countries during 44 years of service.
She is now permanently moored at Ocean Terminal in Leith as a five-star attraction and exclusive events venue, welcoming close to 400,000 visitors a year.
Widely regarded as one of the jewels in the capital’s crown, the Which? survey demonstrates the yacht’s continuing appeal.
As well as coming top of the list of attractions, it received a five star rating in the food and drink, value for money, and information categories.
There was room in the top ten for another celebrated Scottish visitor attraction in the form of Culzean Castle, the one time grand country seat of the Kennedy family in South Ayrshire. It is now one of the National Trust for Scotland’s prized properties.
It to o received an array of five-star ratings, with Which? members praising the standard of its facilities and lack of crowds.
Elsewhere, Stirling Castle placed 16th in the list, praised for its standard of entertainment, lack of crowds, and information on offer.
There were just two other Scottish entries in the list, with Edinburgh Castle and Glasgow Cathedral voted in at 39th and 40th place respectively.
Edinburgh Castle, one of the country’ s best known attractions, did not receive five stars in any of the categories. It was rated just two stars in terms of its food and drink offering, value for money, and crowds.
Runner-up to the Royal Yacht Britannia was Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, a ruined monastery and grounds in North Yorkshire. Third place was given to Stourhead House and gardens, in Wiltshire.
Rory Bola nd, editor of Which? travel, said the wealth of attractions offered choice to people staying in the UK this year. He said: “With so many of us holidaying in the UK this year, we’re all looking for new places to explore and these results provide plenty of inspiration, with some excellent lesser-known attractions alongside the favourites we already know and love.
“Our findings show that visitors value learning something new from the historical attractions they visit, while providing value for money is
another common feature of those near the top of the table.
“What’ s clear though is that whatever your budget, whether you’re looking for a
st roll dow napier or a saunter through a palace, the UK is blessed with fantastic locations for great days out.”
Which? questioned 4,283 members of its online panel between 9 and 30 March to compile the survey.