The top visitor attractions for 2007 have been announced by VisitBritain and reveal a 3 per cent growth compared to 2006.

According to the 2007 Visitor Attractions survey visitor and heritage centres have experienced the biggest increase, with a 12 per cent growth in popularity. Also, despite an above average rain fall this summer, the outdoor attraction sector has boomed; country parks, farms and wildlife attractions all experienced an increase between 4 per cent and 8 per cent.

Regionally, the East of England reported the highest visitor increase of 9 per cent with River Lea Country Park accumulating 4.5 million free visits, an increase of 29 per cent on 2006. Similarly, Woburn Safari Park was the region's most visited paid for attraction in 2007.

Visits to London attractions increased by 5 per cent and the British Museum retained its position as the most visited free attraction with 5.4 million visits, an 11 per cent increase. This makes it the third most visited free attraction after Xscape Milton Keynes in the South East (6.7 million visitors) and Blackpool Pleasure Beach (5.5 million visitors).

The Tower of London is shown to be the most popular paid for attraction with over two million visits, followed by St Paul's Cathedral (1.6 million visitors) and Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth (1.4 million visitors).

VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright, said: "This research demonstrates the demand for all types of attractions in England, and that consumers are getting less likely to swayed by the influence of the weather.

"Current campaigns are encouraging even more visitors to enjoy our attractions in these challenging times."