British In Need of History Lesson!

Leeds Castle is in Leeds, the bulldog is the official animal of Britain and Hadrian's Wall is in China.

If you're a history buff you'll have spotted that this is all nonsense. If you're a typical Brit, on the other hand, you might have found yourself nodding in agreement!

As we launched out mission to find the British public's favourite historic site, we surveyed over 3000 people and were startled by its conclusion - the British know more about foreign landmarks than they do about their own!

More than a third of those surveyed believed Leeds Castle to be in Leeds (it's actually in Kent), while the same number named the British bulldog as the official animal for the UK (it is, in fact, the lion).

Perhaps even more worryingly, a quarter of Brits confuse the Lost Gardens of Heligan with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

And with many claiming the Pennines lie between France and Spain, and Hadrian's Wall is located in China, it looks like the British need to swot up on their landmarks.

Thankfully, almost all those surveyed knew the Great Barrier Reef is in Australia and the ancient Pyramids are in Egypt. But 12% went on to say they didn't think Nelson's Column was located at Trafalgar Square and 28% think the White Cliffs of Dover are made of sandstone. Some were surprised to learn that Charles Darwin adorns the back of a five pound note and that entrance to the 885 square miles of the Lake District was free.


Britain's Best is a brand new show on UKTV History. Presented by Alan Titchmarsh, it features some of the best-loved historical sites in Britain - but we know there are many, many more and we want you to tell us about the ones that matter to you. So vote now for your favourite, or nominate it if it's not in the online directory.

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