North Yorkshire tourist attractions have come out on top in a new survey by consumer experts.

CASTLE HOWARD: Heritage and History winner

The Holiday Which? team inspected more than 300 venues across the country for its first-ever guide to tourist attractions.

Its conclusions will make pleasing reading for tourist chiefs in York and North Yorkshire.

Which? has published a list of best attractions in several categories, and the county has four top entries.

Castle Howard, near Malton, in the Heritage and History section;

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens, Ripon, in Outdoor Attractions;

National Railway Museum, York, in Museums and Galleries;

Eden Camp, Malton, in Themed Experiences.

Which? said the attractions were chosen based on visitor numbers and were assessed on their quality - what there is to see and do, interpretation, guides and appeal to different age groups; standard of facilities - restaurant, shops, toilets, parking; and overall value for money.

Other Yorkshire attractions to get the thumbs-up included Eureka! in Halifax and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.

The "worst" attractions included Butlins Family Entertainment Resort in Skegness, the Earth Centre in Doncaster and the Sea Life Centre in Brighton.

The book is published on April 7.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that culture secretary Chris Smith is to announce this week that plans to introduce free admission to all British museums are to be scrapped.

But a spokeswoman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport insisted: "The

situation has not changed at all. We said we would do it in three stages - children allowed in free last year, pensioners to be allowed in free from April, and after that we would look at the wider picture and see how it could be expanded."

Free entry for pensioners is being introduced at the National Railway Museum from Saturday. Children's admission is already free, and adults are charged £6.50.

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