Do you know where Hadrian's Wall is?

June 22 2009 , Written by thediversetraveller Published on #Britain, #British, #Culture, #Hertiage, #holiday, #landmarks, #NortEastEngland, #research, #Staycation, #Travel News, #travelresearch, #UK

Over half of us are planning to take short breaks here in the UK this year. While this is great news for British tourism, new research has revealed many of us haven't a clue about the historic and cultural sites our doorstep.

According to the study by destination marketing agency NewcastleGateshead Initiative*, when confronted with an image of Hadrian's Wall (the UK's greatest Roman monument) over half didn't know it is in Britain;

27% assumed it was in Canada, 16% Finland, and a confused 10% placed Hadrian's Wall in Alaska.

Do you know how long the World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall is? No! Well, join me and most of those interviewed (it's approx.150 miles in case you were wondering...).

Similarly, only 58% correctly identified an image of Minach in Cornwall, with incorrect answers spanning Italy, Corsica and Greece (I got that one wrong too - doh!).

TheThreeMusketeers picture: Minack theatre, Cornwall. Source: http://www.minack.com

Over a third mislabelled Dorset's Jurassic Coast as somewhere abroad and over a quarter thought a photo of Norfolk couldn't possibly be taken in the UK.

Over a third of the poll respondents admitted to putting more into research of foreign tourist destinations than UK hotspots and, 29% admitted they are more likely to visit historic landmarks when they go abroad.

However, for those of us keen to holiday at home this year, it's clear we need to do more research to get the most out of our 'staycation'.

Carol Bell, head of programme development for North East England's cultural programme (culture10), said: "This research just confirms how little many of us know about the rich and diverse places of interest to visit right here in the UK.

For further visitor information and to find out more about Britain's historic and cultural sites visit www.visitbritain.com ...

and for details about the North East England's programme of festivals and events visit www.newcastlegateshead.com.

If you are staying in the UK this year, what prompted that decision and where are you going?

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