Yorkshire Dales voted Europe's best national park - plus two other UK hot spots

Virgin Radio

27 Jan 2021, 08:49

Would you believe it? The Yorkshire Dales National Park has been awarded the best in Europe, thank you very much Tripadvisor in their annual Traveller's Choice Awards with the UK boasting another two areas which have made it into the top ten.

The annual awards are based on popularity and reviews from the website users and the UK hot spots beat off parks in Spain, Turkey and Italy.

The Yorkshire Dales has taken the crown with its scenic hikes, jaw-dropping historic sites, museums, farms, breweries and epic stargazing. Our Kate Lawler has been singing its praises as one of her favourite places to walk her dogs - and we can see why. It's a stunner.

The Dales is followed by other UK scenic attractions the Peak District in fourth place and the New Forest in fifth.

A Tripadvisor spokesperson said: “With indoor activities mostly off the table in 2020, travellers headed for the great outdoors and according to a recent survey of Tripadvisor travellers, more than half (52%) say they are more likely to take an outdoor or nature trip than they were before the pandemic.

"With this in mind, it seemed timely to introduce this year’s new category, National Parks. While the pandemic has been incredibly tough in lots of ways, one positive that we can take away is that it has unleashed a new found love of getting back to nature for many of us."

Europe's top 10 national parks for 2021

Yorkshire Dales National Park, UK

Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Peak District National Park, UK

New Forest National Park, UK

Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, Spain

Sierra Nevada National Park, Spain

Uludag National Park, Turkey

Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park, Spain

Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, Italy

Listen to Kate Lawler, weekdays from 4pm-7pm on Virgin Radio UK.