NORTH Yorkshire tourist attractions have come top in their category of tourist attractions, new figures show.

And research carried out by the English Tourism Council suggests their popularity is set to grow even further.

York Minster has overtaken Westminster Abbey to become the most visited cathedral in the country, the council states.

The Minster had 1,800,000 visitors last year, half a million more than Canterbury Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, which recently started to charge for admission.

And the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is the top steam railway in the country, with 277,870 visits making 1999 the second busiest year ever recorded.

Marketing manager Jane Lethbridge said: "This is fantastic.

"We are delighted to have received this recognition for our work."

The station's recently completed £416,000 refurbishment was proving a success in attracting even more visitors, she said.

Flamingo Land, near Pickering, had 1,197,000 visits in 1999, an increase of more than 90,000 on the previous year which places it 13th in the league of most visited paid-for attractions.

Flamingo Land spokeswoman Melanie Wood said: "We are pleased yet again to be up there with the best - and we hope to improve on that position next year.

"With the arrival of Magnum Force we are expecting better things."

High Jervaulx Farm, in Masham, was among the top ten most visited farms.

Brian Moore, chairman of the farm, said: "It's good news. I've been here eight years now and it has gone well, but we have got to continue improving."

Nationally, visits to attractions have grown by one per cent, reversing a drop experienced in 1998.

If it continues, North Yorkshire attractions should be preparing for even higher figures this year.

Nationally, Staffordshire-based Alton Towers theme park remained the top attraction with 2.65 million visitors last year, followed by Madame Tussaud's wax work museum with 2.64 million visits and the Tower of London with 2.42 million visits.

Outdoor attractions boosted by good summer weather saw visits to farms increase by seven per cent and country parks, gardens and steam railways all up by four per cent.

In contrast, indoor attractions suffered from a decline in overseas visitors and experienced a 0.5 per cent drop in visits to historic properties and one per cent drop in museum visits.