Another top ten for Windermere Lake Cruises!

Windermere Lake Cruises is one of only four attractions outside London to make England’s top ten most popular paid for visitor attractions, according to figures released by VisitEngland today.

The latest Annual Visitor Attractions Survey collated by the national tourism body shows that Windermere Lake Cruises ranks in the top ten list of paid for visitor attractions in England in company with iconic attractions such as Stonehenge and Kew Gardens.

The figures reveal that there were more than 1,350,000 passenger journeys on the company’s 16-strong fleet of steamers, modern launches and wooden launches during 2011. That’s a 2.9% increase on the previous year.

Windermere Lake Cruises is the only Cumbrian attraction – and one of just a handful outside London - to appear on the list.

Nigel Wilkinson, Managing Director of Windermere Lake Cruises, says: “These figures underline the key contribution tourism makes to our regional and national economies. For Windermere Lake Cruises to be up there amongst some of the world’s most iconic visitor attractions underlines the enduring appeal of Windermere and the unique perspective our boats and steamers offer to visitors.”

Windermere Lake Cruises has already been in the national spotlight this summer. Its oldest and most iconic vessel, MV Tern (first launched in 1891), recently hosted the Olympic Torch as part of its nationwide relay, while the Queen of the Lake participated in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant in one of the largest flotillas ever assembled on the River Thames.