Shropshie tourism figures get summer sun boost

The people running some of the region's most popular outdoor attractions said numbers increased up to 40 per cent compared with the year before.

Some of the main visitor attractions in the UK welcomed an average six per cent more people last year than in 2012, with outdoor attractions up eight per cent.

But some outdoor venues in the region say they experienced an even bigger lift in visitors.

Caroline Wellon, park manager at Hawkstone Park Follies, in Weston-under-Redcastle, near Wem, said numbers were up by 40 per cent to about 34,000 visitors.

She added: "I think it was down to the weather, but that also coincided with far more publicity and marketing."

Richard Powell, finance director of Park Hall Countryside Attraction, near Oswestry, said: "Last year was very good. Our summer was well up on the previous year – something like 20 per cent, which was excellent. The summer holidays were fantastic."

Pete Carty, countryside manager for south Shropshire said numbers at popular walking spot Carding Mill Valley, near Church Stretton, were stable, but visiting patterns had changed.

He added: "If there are lots of sunny days we get about 25,000 paying cars, if it's more wet we get about 21,000. But what we have seen is more winter visitors. One of the busiest weeks of the year is Christmas week now.

"We have actually done rather well over the last few years. I think it is down to the recession that people are not going away as much and going for days out closer to home instead."

Nationally, tourist hotspots such as Kew Gardens, London Zoo and Stonehenge all saw huge leaps in visitor numbers in 2013 compared to 2012.

The figures, from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions(ALVA), also showed that the British Museum, with numbers up 20 per cent to 6.7 million, was the top attraction last year.

Alva director Bernard Donoghue said: "2014 is sure to be a momentous year."