Helpline for daffodil hunters

Tourists can use a helpline to find dancing daffodils

Tourists heading for Cumbria can get hi-tech help in their hunt for the most beautiful daffodils in Europe.

New technology is being used to help guide poetry pilgrims away from the city and to the host of golden daffodils made famous by Wordsworth.

Each spring, thousands descend on the Lake District in search of a carpet of the yellow flowers such as the one which inspired Wordsworth while walking with his sister Dorothy in 1802.

Now a new telephone hotline is being introduced to help point tourists in the right direction.

Tourists flock to see Wordsworth-inspired flowers

Wordsworth may have been trying to escape the modern world when he spotted the crowd of golden daffodils lining the shores of Ullswater 200 years ago.

But this year, the 200th anniversary of Wordsworth's famous poem, Cumbria's tourism board has been inundated with calls asking where was the best place to see clusters of golden flowers.

Now, in the same way skiers telephone to find out where the best snow is at the start of the day, tourists can call to find out where a crowd of daffodils can be found "fluttering and dancing in the breeze".

Tourist board chief executive Chris Collier said: "Wordsworth fans have been coming to Cumbria for two centuries to find inspiration from the same landscape and attractions which he loved.

"Every year there is interest in his daffodils but, in this bicentenary year, the level of interest is unprecedented."

The Daffodils Hotline is on 08705 133059.