THE biggest power station in Britain is opening its doors to the public, in an effort to become North Yorkshire's most unusual visitor attraction.

Drax Power Station, near Selby, will be open to the public at weekends from Saturday (JUNE 4), to help the public understand more about the electricity production process.

The two-hour tours of the site, which creates eight per cent of the UK's electricity every day, will take visitors around the 850-foot chimney, 12 cooling towers and four giant biomass domes, which are each as tall as The Big One rollercoaster in Blackpool.

Rachael Baldwin, who has formerly worked for York Minster, The National Trust and English Heritage, is the visitor centre manager at Drax and came up with the idea.

She said: "The power station has arranged educational visits for school pupils for many years but there is such a lot going on at Drax right now we decided it was time to make the site accessible to everyone.

"There’s so many extraordinary sights and sounds and much to discover. We hope that by opening at weekends we will encourage more people and families to visit us for a fascinating and memorable day out."

The power station has been upgraded to use compressed wood, or biomass, to reduce its carbon output from burning coal, and wants to show visitors how it produces electricity for the country but also how the conversion has taken place.

Rachael said: "Everyone is overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the plant the first time they come to Drax and amazed by the vast infrastructure required to generate eight per cent of the UK’s electricity every day. We’re really looking forward to sharing our achievements with the public."

Visitors will also be encouraged to explore the onsite Barlow nature reserve, woodland and ponds, which is home to more than 100 species of wildlife.

Tours must be pre-booked by emailing tours@drax.com