A FIFTY year old Southampton ship has been named fifth best tourist attraction in the UK - above one of the world's most famous naval museums.

The Steamship Shieldhall - the largest working steam ship in Britain - was voted one of the top 10 best-rated attractions in the country according to research compiled by Premier Inn.

The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth only came in at ninth.

Number one was a 'gin experience' in Manchester - with an alpaca walking attraction in Sheffield second.

Using data sourced from TripAdvisor, the rating of each city’s top attractions were analysed to identify those with the highest rating.

The result was what organisers described as "an incredibly diverse list" of things to do all across the country – with SS Shieldhall in Southampton coming in at fifth place.

City by city, the results highlight the wonderful breath and variety of the nation’s tourist spots, revealing a mix of world-famous attractions and more unexpected places that are clearly a hit with visitors.

Bath’s historic Roman Baths, Edinburgh’s impressive nature spot Arthur’s Seat and a Beatles tour in Liverpool were some of the more well-known attractions that were listed as each city’s ‘Top Attraction’. However you may be surprised to learn that Cambridge’s top attraction wasn’t punting by the university but a wine school that offers tastings, Newcastle’s tourists are clearly enamoured by a 19th century tunnel and it’s a vineyard that is the best rated place in Norwich for visitors.

Museums and galleries are the most common top-rated tourist attraction, with seven cities in the UK having these cultural hubs of their best reviewed place for visitors. Nature, historic and food and drink attractions followed in popularity, with four attractions listed each. Animals, transport, tours, adventure and locations type attractions also featured on the map, with one each.

To calculate the UK’s 10 top-rated tourist attractions, the rating of each city’s top attraction were analysed to pinpoint the attractions with the highest percentage of 5/5 ratings. The resulting top ten make up an amazing mix of things to do in the UK, encompassing history, culture, adventure, nature and food and drink.

UK’s 10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions In The UK

1. Manchester Three Rivers Gin Experience, gin distillery tours and tastings in Manchester

2. Holly Hagg Farm, alpaca walking experience in Sheffield

3. Winbirri Vineyards, family run vineyard in Norwich offering tours and tastings

4. The Oxford Artisan Distillery, independent distillery in Oxford

5. Steamship Shieldhall, working steam ship in Southampton

6. Cambridgeshire Wine School, offers wine lessons in Cambridge

7. The Gower Peninsula, area of outstanding beauty outside Swansea

8. The Adrenalin Jungle, outdoor activity centre in Nottingham

9. The Mary Rose Museum, preserved ship dating back to 1500s in Portsmouth

10. Victoria Tunnel, 19th century tunnel underneath Newcastle