Shropshire Star

From military museums to National Trust beauty spots: Shropshire attractions among most popular in poll

The RAF Museum in Cosford and Attingham Park are the third most popular attractions in the region – despite slight dips in visitor numbers.

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Attingham Park

Results of an annual survey, carried out by Visit England, show that National Trust site Attingham was the most visited paid-for destination in Shropshire in 2017, notching up 464,871 visitors compared to 475,271 the previous year.

RAF Museum Cosford

The military museum saw 356,874 visitors compared to 373,455 in 2016, behind Birmingham Mac theatre and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery which took first and second spots respectively in the free category.

RAF Museum Cosford spokeswoman Michelle Worthington said: “We’re delighted to be named as one of the top three free visitor attractions in the region.

"For over a decade we have consistently maintained a footfall of over 300,000 visitors each year, which is a testament to the great visitor experience we offer and keeps visitors returning to us year on year.”

RAF Museum Cosford

Historic house Attingham in Atcham, near Shrewsbury, was beaten only by Drayton Manor Park & Zoo and Trentham Gardens, both in Staffordshire.

The park has seen visitor numbers treble in the last decade with many repeat visitors. Weston Park, on the Shropshire border, was 12th with an almost 20 per cent drop in visitors at 204,443 compared to 254,804 in 2016.

Bridgnorth Cliff Railway

Bridgnorth Cliff Railway was the 14th most popular paid-for experience.

Others to feature in the top 20 free attractions included St Mary the Virgin Church in Shrewsbury and St Laurence’s, in Church Stretton, which placed 9th and 12th respectively, followed by Shrewsbury’s Abbey which was 15th.

Meerkats at Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo was the second most popular paid-for attraction nationally with 1.9 million visitors behind The Tower of London.

Visit England chief executive Sally Balcombe said: “It is great to see people are getting out and exploring the huge variety of attractions and places of interest on offer across the country, boosting tourism and distributing the benefits across local economies.”

Shockwave at Drayton Manor Park

The British Museum was the most visited ‘free’ attraction in England in 2017 for the 10th year running with nearly six million visitors, and the Tate Modern came a close second with more than 5.5m.

Overall, visits to England’s attractions rose by two per cent in 2017. Visitor attractions overall reported increased spending of seven per cent on 2016.

Camper Jam at Weston Park

Tourism is worth £106 billion annually to England.