10th September 2007
by ecofriendlytourist.com
Britain’s favourite view revealed
The website www.ecofriendlytourist.com reports on the result of a major ITV series which searched for the country’s favourite view
Wastwater in the Lake District was named ‘Britain’s Favourite View’ in last night’s ITV show of the same name, hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald.
Backed by Coronation Street actress Sally Whittaker and Cumbria Tourism, Wastwater triumphed in a public vote over the Gower Peninsula in Wales, Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland in the live final.
Owned by the National Trust, Wastwater is nearly three miles long, almost half a mile wide and, with a depth of 258 feet, is the deepest lake in England. It is overlooked by England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike at 3,210 feet. Wordsworth described the lake as "long, stern and desolate".
Sally Whittaker said, "This landscape has fired up the imaginations of painters, poets and climbers over the centuries. And it's not lost any of its power to surprise, charm and thrill us today."
On winning the contest she said, “I’m really thrilled and hopefully even more people will go off to the Lake District now. There are so many beautiful views in the Lake District – every view is amazing and it is such an inspirational and magical place to be.”
Each week four well-known personalities championed their favourite rural, urban, coastal or historical landscape. Altogether there were 16 views featured:
Sir Ranulph Fiennes The Royal Crescent, Bath
Katherine Jenkins, Three Cliffs Bay, Swansea
Rory Bremner, Edinburgh from Calton Hill
Clive Anderson, Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland
David Dickinson, Seafront at Blackpool, Lancashire
Sally Whittaker, Wastwater, Cumbria
Rt Hon Charles Kennedy, Loch Coruisk, Isle of Skye
Tim Healy and Denise Welch, Tyne Bridges, Newcastle Gateshead
Janet Street Porter, Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland
Jamie Redknapp, Three Graces, Liverpool
Lesley Garrett, Upper Swaledale, North Yorkshire
Des Lynam, Seven Sisters, East Sussex
Rolf Harris, St Ives Harbour, Cornwall
Eddie Irvine, Strangford Lough, Co. Down
Vic Reeves, Stonehenge, Wiltshire
Meera Syal, London from Waterloo Bridge
The tourist organisation Visit Britain has launched a special website with information about the views featured in the series plus 45 others. There is also a book with a foreword by Sir Trevor MacDonald to tie in with the series.
“Whether intentionally or not the series seems to be part of a trend encouraging us to take more holidays closer to home” says the website ecofriendlytourist.com. "Together with Visit Britain's website it's a great source of ideas and inspiration for where to go and what to see on your doorstep."
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
For information about Wastwater go to the Visit Cumbria website
Visit Britain’s website linked with the series is www.britainsviews.com
Further information about ecofriendlytourist.com and its guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK are available at www.ecofriendlytourist.com
Or contact: webmaster@ecofriendlytourist.com
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