Still time to vote for the Broads in the National Park of the Year awards
Norfolk Broads, National Park. Potter Heigham.Picture: ANTONY KELLY - Credit: Archant
There is less than a week left in which to cast your vote for the Broads in BBC Countryfile's National Park of the Year awards.
The region was named one of five finalists in the competition after it was nominated along with Snowdonia, Northumberland, Exmoor and New Forest national parks.
Magazine readers were asked to submit suggestions, which judges then scrutinised before selecting the five nominees.
Members of the public are now asked to nominate their favourite with voting open until March 5.
READ MORE: The 'mysterious, marvellous' Broads nominated for National Park of the Year
Newly appointed Broads Tourism chair Ruth Knight said the nomination was 'a wonderful achievement for the Broads'.
'Winning would be fantastic elevating the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads onto the international tourism stage, helping us to promote the area as the world-class destination that we all know it is,' she said.
'Tourism to the Broads is already vital to our economy with nearly 8m visitors contributing around £600m and employing approximately 8,000 local people.'
READ MORE: Key changes to Broads Tourism announced as organisation faces bright future
Most Read
- 1 DVLA issues urgent warning to drivers in UK
- 2 Seaside Victorian B&B for sale near 'best beach in the east'
- 3 Crumbling coast fear means Norfolk's 'golf ball' radar must be moved
- 4 Yobs pictured climbing on vandalised charity dinosaur
- 5 Pub gets dozens of calls asking - 'Do you know there's a dog on your roof?'
- 6 City chip shop might be SINKING but refuses to close
- 7 The days you can visit Wroxham Barns for a fiver this month
- 8 Best friends take over popular café in 'just heavenly' setting
- 9 'Unusual' cottage for sale in one of Norfolk's smuggling villages
- 10 WATCH: Car becomes engulfed in flames at side of Norfolk road
Mrs Knight said winning the title would enable Broads Tourism to promote the Broads as a year-round destination, attracting new visitors and boosting the economy and employment.
'We should all be very proud of being nominated, as it recognises that we have beautiful countryside, a quarter of the country's rarest wildlife and a superb cultural heritage and the National Park winner's accolade will help us to ensure that is all protected for us all to enjoy now and in the future.'
READ MORE: The Broads Needs You! Why you should vote in the National Park of the Year awards
Broads Authority chair Jacquie Burgess said she had been able to witness the hard work and dedication that goes into running the Broads National Park.
She said: 'When Sir Arthur Hobhouse first studied areas in Great Britain worthy of National park status, in 1949, he listed the Broads as a prime contender, describing it as 'a potential National Park which seems to belong to another world'.
'There really is no landscape quite like it anywhere else in the UK and we're all so proud of the good work which goes on here.
'To vote for the Broads in the Countryfile National Park awards is to recognise the uniqueness of this landscape and the phenomenal management which takes place to make it a space of enjoyment for all.'
To vote for the Broads visit: BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards 2018: National Park of the Year