High pound hits tourist spots

The Tower of London remains the main historic attraction in England

Top historic attractions in England have lost out on overseas visitors because of the high value of the pound, according to the English Tourism Council (ETC).

Key sites such as the Tower of London, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace saw a drop in tourist numbers in 1999.

ETC figures confirm that the Tower of London remained the most popular historic property, with 2.42m visitors, but it recorded a fall of 4% compared to 1998.

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Kensington Palace in London bucked the trend with a rise of 32% in visitor numbers.

The second most popular historic property was Canterbury Cathedral, with 1.35 m visitors - down 10% on the previous year.

Third place was held again by Windsor Castle with 1.28m visitors - a fall of 14%.

ETC chief executive Mary Lynch said the results were mixed: "A number of historic properties have had a tough year, with the strong pound and falling overseas visitor numbers affecting many of the most popular ones.

It is encouraging to see a surge of interest in the less well known properties

Mary Lynch ETC chief executive

"However, it is encouraging to see a surge of interest in the less well-known properties," she added.

Although the ETC blamed the drop in numbers on the strong pound, it calculated the amount spent by those visiting the properties rose to a record £282m, 4% higher than 1998.

While historic ships such as HMS Victory, the Mary Rose and HMS Belfast failed to attract as many visitors as they did in 1998 , the World Naval Base at Chatham in Kent almost doubled its visitor numbers to 177,416.

And some rural sites fared better than their London counterparts: Stonehenge, Harewood House and Tintagel Castle all had more visitors in 1999.