Two Wiltshire attractions in top 20 most visited in England
A list's been compiled showing the most popular paid for attractions
Two of Wiltshire's tourist hotspots have been named in the top 20 most popular paid for attractions in England during 2023.
More than 1.3 million people visited Stonehenge last year - ranking it 7th in the list from Visit England.
The stone circle had a 36% increase in people going along, compared to 2022.
There's also a spot for Longleat safari park in the rundown - coming in 18th place, with a total of 800,000 visitors last year.
Entrance figures have also been released from some other Wiltshire attractions including:
- Salisbury Cathedral had nearly 260,000 visitors last year - up 32%
- 370,000 people went to Stourhead near Mere in 2023
- Old Sarum Castle welcomed 47,000 people - a 4% increase
- Salisbury Museum had a 22% drop in visitors, but much of the site's been closed for the last year for a major redevelopment there
- The biggest increase in visitors was at Mompesson House in Salisbury - up 322% to 33,600
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“It’s good to see continued growth in visits to our wonderful attractions and this survey underlines what we know from the industry, that there remains ground to be covered to get our sector back to pre-pandemic levels and that the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.
“Our exceptional attractions remain vitally important to our tourism offer and it’s no surprise international and domestic tourists are returning to our first-class museums and galleries and our world-beating castles and historic houses.
“With the summer holidays fast approaching I urge everyone to show your support, boost local economies through tourism and make magical memories in England’s high quality and varied attractions.”