CHESHIRE has been named the eighth most beautiful county in the country.

County council tourism manager Paul Murphy said: 'If you ask people which would be their first choice to visit they are likely to say the Cotswolds or North Yorkshire. We are trying to get the message out there that Cheshire has just as much to offer.

'It's a very different proposition to other counties, which have rougher countryside and landscapes. Cheshire is more gentle. You come here to indulge yourself and take relaxing walks.'

The UKTV Style Gardens study asked gardening experts including TV presenters Diarmuid Gavin, Tommy Walsh and Charlie Dimmock to assemble a shortlist of the 12 most picturesque counties in England. This was subsequently put to a poll of 4,000 people to find the 'garden of England'.

North Yorkshire was first, followed by Devon and Derbyshire.

Mr Murphy said: 'It's wonderful that Cheshire is now being recognised. This is largely because it is a garden county and that is how we are marketing it.

'The gardens at Tatton Park and Arley Hall attract huge numbers of people.'