A LAKE District tourist attraction has been named as one of the most popular in the country.

Windermere Lake Cruises has been revealed by tourism body Visit England as the fourth most popular paid-for tourist attraction in England in 2008, and the second most popular outside London.

Only Westminster Abbey, Kew Gardens and Chester Zoo drew in bigger paying crowds than the Bowness-based business, which provides pleasure trips on the country’s largest lake.

The cruises proved more popular than world-famous attractions such as Stonehenge, Canterbury Cathedral, the Roman Baths and the Eden Project.

Almost 1.2 million people boarded the Windermere boats last year, which was actually around 70,000 less than the previous year, where the attraction was England’s third most popular paid-for.

Nigel Wilkinson, managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, said: “Obviously we are delighted that in the current environment we have been able to stay in the top ten paid-for but to be listed fourth is great.

“It is a great deal of credit to the staff who have worked hard to provide exceptional customer service.”

Mr Wilkinson said the company was also benefiting from having undertaken numerous initiatives to expand its offer to customers – such as bringing out a walking book with routes linked by boat journeys, trialing a water bus service with waterfront hotels, expanding its jazz cruises and offering discounts to local residents.

Mr Wilkinson said the company was also seeing growth in a fledgling tourism market sector.

“We have seen over the last two or three years a marked increase in Chinese visitors,” he said.

“That is a market that is increasingly opening to overseas travel.”

The country’s most popular attraction is the British Museum, which drew in 5.9 million visitors – however, the museum is free to get in.

A spokesman for Cumbria Tourism said the cruises were an important draw for tourists coming into the county.

“It’s no surprise that Windermere Lake Cruises are among the top paid for attractions in England,” he said.

“Windermere Lake Cruises are a well-established com-pany and have carried many generations of passengers over the years, offering a great service on England’s largest lake.

“Each year Windermere Lake Cruises carry over a million passengers, making them the top visitor attraction in Cumbria.

“They are a huge asset to our county both in terms of their obvious appeal to visitors and their significant contribution to the Cumbrian economy.”