Top 10 most Instagrammable tourist destinations in Britain
The Lake District is officially Britain’s most Instagrammable tourist attraction, a new study has shown. The study, conducted by InsureMy, analysed hashtags on Instagram to establish the most famous destinations and attractions in Britain.
The Lake District has been revealed as Britain’s most Instagrammable destination, with #lakedistrict surpassing over 4.9 million postson Instagram. The Lake District is a national park based in Cumbria, a popular vacation spot with an array of lakes and mountainous scenery, making it a popular attraction for hikers or those seeking a beautiful view.
The second most Instagrammable attraction is the London Eye. There are currently more than 3.4 million posts using #londoneye on Instagram. The London Eye is an iconic representation of London and, therefore, a popular post for Instagram users worldwide when visiting.
Big Ben is Britain’s third most Instagrammable attraction, amassing over 3.3 million hashtags on the platform for #bigben. The famous clock tower is a mainstay of the London skyline and, therefore, popular with Instagram users visiting the capital.
The Cotswolds is the fourth most Instagrammable destination in Britain, with #cotswolds surpassing over 2.4 million posts on Instagram. The area is beloved for its typically green English landscapes and stone walls, and is a popular wedding destination within the country, with #cotswolds wedding raking in 102,000 Instagram posts.
The Peak District is the fifth most Instagrammable destination, with #peakdistrict amassing over 2.1 million posts on Instagram. Known for its natural beauty, the Peak District national park has an abundance of lakes and waterfalls, making a picture-perfect Instagram post with many posts of users taking a swim.
The New Forest is Britain’s sixth most Instagrammable destination, with #newforest receiving just over 1.8 million Instagram posts. The national park is famous for its unique set of pony breeds named ‘New Forest Ponies.’ This contributes to its placement on this list with Instagram posts featuring snapshots of ponies accompanying the park’s beautiful landscape.
Buckingham Palace is Britain’s seventh most Instagrammable attraction, with #buckinghampalace amassing 1.8 million posts on Instagram. Many of these posts commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth as well as a selfie in front of the gates, so the home of the royal monarch was sure to be on this list.
Snowdonia is ranked eighth as the Britain’s most Instagrammable destination, with #snowdonia having a total of over 1.2 million Instagram posts. Many of these posts display the mountainous region, with users also posting themselves on the mountain peaks at sunrise.
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Dartmoor National Park places ninth as the most Instagrammable attraction in Britain with over 1,095,000 million posts, with users posting pictures of the standing stones, which are stones preserved from historic times.
Finishing of the list is Scotland’s Isle of Skye as the tenth most Instagrammable with over 993,000posts. Instagram users post captions and uploads of the Isle of Skye as a must visit destinations for hikers, as well as uploading posts of the ‘fairy pools.’ The fairy pools are natural small waterfalls with aqua blue water streaming down making them a scenic and popular Instagram post.
An InureMy spokesperson commented on the findings: “With the ongoing cost of living crisis, many people are choosing to forego a trip abroad and stay in Britain. These findings feature various iconic attractions or destinations in the country. For instance, the Lake District and Peak District are great spots for hikers and campers, while Big Ben and Buckingham Palace are ideal for those interested in historical attractions. The list has something suitable for every Brit, with a harmonious blend of cultural significance, historical importance, and natural splendour, vividly portraying the essence of Britain.
A summary of the top 10 most Instagrammable tourist destinations in Britain according to the study can be found below:
| Rank | Attractions | Instagram posts |
| 1. | Lake District | 4,932,000 |
| 2. | London Eye | 3,400,000 |
| 3. | Big Ben | 3,300,000 |
| 4. | Cotswolds | 2,400,000 |
| 5. | Peak District | 2,100,000 |
| 6. | New Forest | 1,855,000 |
| 7. | Buckingham Palace | 1,800,000 |
| 8. | Snowdonia | 1,200,000 |
| 9. | Dartmoor Park | 1,095,000 |
| 10. | Isle of Skye | 993,000 |
Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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As so many overseas tourists make a beeline for London, joining millions of domestic tourists, it was no real surprise that there are two London sites in the Top 10 list. I thought some other towns and cities, like Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon, which are both on the tourist trail might have crept in.
You’ve got the maths wrong! Three of the Top 10 are in London. There are London Eye, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.
As you say it’s no surprise but there are plenty of other cities in the UK and they don’t make it to the Top 10.
I’ll be honest… I am slightly left wondering how this ‘analysis’ was done. Of course, if you compare use of the hashtag #lakedistrict with, say, #bigben, then you’re not really comparing like for like. Big Ben will have a negligible footprint when compared with the 2,000+ square kilometres that make up the Lake District.
I’m also curious about precisely what hashtags were analysed. With the Lake District, for example, did they also look at hashtags such as #thelakedistrict #lakedistrictnp #lakedistrictnationalpark #lakedistrictuk #cumbria etc?
Attractions is such a vague class and covers a multitude of venues.
One big issue is whether you are having to pay admission or not. What percentage of posts on Buckingham Palace are externals snatched from beyond the railings? And what percentage are interiors, which would probably be far more revealing and interesting? Once you’ve paid your admission.
No surprise that the Lake District does so well. It is huge and it’s free admission.
There’s always loads of criticism of people being too obsessed with taking images for their Insta rather than experiencing places and living in the moment. When you look at these images you appreciate that what Insta does is that it encourages people to take great pictures.
Although we may like to look down on how superficial Instagram can be for a lot of us – and that includes me – it is one of our little guilty pleasures.
And really it is quite harmless isn’t it?
It’s no surprise that London has got 3 entries in the top 10 and it is where so many overseas tourists begin and end their UK adventure.
What would be really interesting would be a table of other UK cities. Again as the tourist trail usually goes through Bath, Stratford upon Avon, York and Edinburgh it would be interesting to see what other cities creep in.
I’m not a Scouser but I feel that Liverpool is always very photogenic with a ferry across the Mersey, TWO cathedrals and all the pop music history.
The Cotswold pic says it all. Green fields, sheep and a backdrop of beautiful Cotswold stone buildings. It sums up the Cotswolds.
Is this another problem with an internet silo or echo chamber? We’ve got all these pictures for these top 10 which is fuelling even more interest in these places. We all know that many a place is suffering from all the problems that come from over tourism.