ONE of Lancashire's most stunning areas has led the way in a poll of favourite tourist destinations.

The Forest of Bowland, stretching from Clitheroe to Lancaster, is in the top five of places to visit in the North West, according to a survey of Nectar loyalty card holders.

Classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Forest of Bowland has been placed alongside other favourites such as Tatton Park in Cheshire, the Isle of Man, Beeston Castle, Cheshire, and Pooles Cavern in the Derbyshire Peak District.

And Lancashire tourism chiefs welcomed the result, saying it was recognition of all the hard work that has gone in to promoting the area.

Lancashire county councillor and chairman of Forest of Bowland AONB, Jean Yates, said: "I think when you have been working somewhere for a while it gives you a shot in the arm to keep carrying on and when you get things like this people gain the impetus to keep going.

"Foot and mouth made people think it was the end of the world but it made us want to do more."

Now, however, the Bowland region is thriving, not just as a tourist attraction but as a centre for regional food and produce.

With all manner of cheese and milk appearing in supermarkets across the county, Coun Yates claims that was is down to the work that has gone on in recent years.

She said: "The reward is seeing Bowland produce in supermarkets and that wouldn't have happened without the combination of partners.

"It's hard to feel part of things when you live in an isolated rural area but we have tried to bring it all together.

"If you get together and know what you're aiming for it's a better way of getting success for us all."

The promotion of the region has come through a series of partnerships between LCC, local district councils and the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board.