Cumbria is home to almost 20 of Great Britain’s most unmissable experiences.

Lonely Planet has published its top 500 list of things to do and hidden gems to find in what it is calling the ultimate UK travel hit-list.

Both Hadrian’s Wall and Windermere make it into the top 10 - ranked fifth and ninth respectively - with a further 16 other Cumbrian destinations also making their mark.

Windermere was described as where “people come in search of the scenic splendour and bucolic experiences that inspired Wordsworth, Coleridge and the English Romantics”.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe took the top spot in the list, followed by the British Museum in London and then Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Other Cumbrian entries range from reliving the age of steam in miniature on La’al Ratty - ranked at 180 - to going on a haute cuisine journey in Cartmel at number 343.

Alternatively, hop, swing or jump into the cool pool waters of Eskdale (number 178); recreate Swallows and Amazons on Derwent Water (191st); sharpen your wits at the Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick (304); sample authentic gingerbread from Sarah Nelson’s Shop in Grasmere (number 310); or get medieval in Carlisle Castle (ranked 492nd).

The Yorkshire Dales - of which 25 per cent is in Cumbria - also feature heavily in the list.

To create the list, the Lonely Planet team compiled every highlight from its guidebooks to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, then everyone in its London office - plus 20 leading figures in the country’s travel sector - was asked to reveal their favourite spots and experiences before the voting began.

Everybody in Lonely Planet’s UK community then voted for their top 20 experiences. With hundreds of votes cast, Lonely Planet ended up with a score for each of the 500 experiences in the book.