DESPITE the efforts of a lawless few to wreck the place, Britain still has a lot going for it.

Not London, mind: the metropolis is "dirty, polluted and overcrowded". For quality of life, it's grand up North.

Leeds is the "Knightsbridge of the North", say the authors of the latest Lonely Planet guide.

Manchester is the first stop of jaded London thrill-seekers, Newcastle is a miracle and Liverpool is no longer stereotyped as a city full of light-fingered scallies (which is news to us).

As for our own doorstep, it is scrubbed up nicely by the Lonely Planet team. Between grumbles about traffic, and parking, and house prices and the rest, York residents should remember that we live in a city of "extraordinary cultural and historical wealth".

And smile.

Updated: 11:22 Tuesday, May 24, 2005