World Tourism Day is a big day for Yorkshire - one of the UK’s most loved destinations.
On Tourism Day in 2018, Yorkshire attracted 129.8 million visitors from all over the world and £5.066 billion was spent.
In 2017, York was rated twelfth among The 15 Best Cities in the UK for visitors in a Conde Nast Traveler survey.
We asked The Yorkshire Post readers to name their favourite attractions across God’s Own Country.
If you’re planning a holiday to Yorkshire, here are locals’ top recommendations.
5. The Forbidden Corner
This unique hidden gem attracts around 120,000 visitors a year and was originally built as a private folly by Colin Armstrong. However, due to its popularity, it was opened to the public. It started as a small woodland of fir trees that were planted as a windbreak to the stables at Tupgill Park in 1979. The first ever visitors were students from Hull University who arrived in July 1993 and enjoyed themselves so much that the founders decided to open it to the public. In 1998, new features were added including the Green Man and the Fawcett Tower and The Forbidden Corner attracted more than 80,000 visitors. Photo: James Hardisty
6. The Strid at Bolton Abbey
The Strid is a collection of beautiful waterfalls and rapids caused by the dramatic narrowing of the River Wharf. It is an extremely dangerous place as both banks are undercut and has been the scene of numerous fatalities. However, The Strid Walk is very popular and you can access it from the car park at Bolton Abbey. The name derives from the Old English Stryth which means ‘turmoil’ and was later changed to Strid which refers to ‘the possibility of striding across’. The Strid’s dangerous nature has been referenced in multiple books including The Force of Prayer by William Wordsworth and The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton. Photo: Bruce Rollinson
7. Wentworth Woodhouse
The building is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, Rotherham and is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. It has more than 300 rooms and the original Jacobean house was rebuilt by Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham and significantly extended by his son, the 2nd Marquess, who has been Prime Minister twice. In the 18th century, the house was inherited by the Earls Fitzwilliam who owned it until 1979 and the park was constructed by the most prominent landscape gardener, Humphry Repton. There were more than 20,000 visitors in 2019. Photo: Gary Longbottom
8. Yorkshire Dales
The upland area of the Pennines has been a famous location for popular TV shows and movies such as Emmerdale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two, Calendar Girls, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and more recently All Creatures Great and Small. Lead mining was very popular in some areas of the Dales in the 19th century and some industrial remains can be found until today, for example the Grassington miners’ cottages. In 2016, there were 3.8 million visitors, including 0.48 million who stayed overnight. Tourists are drawn to the picturesque hiking trails situated in villages and small towns. These include Kirkby Lonsdale, Hawes, Appletreewick, Masham, Clapham, Long Preston and Malham. Photo: Marisa Cashill