British people struggle to recognize landmarks on their doorstep, poll finds

British people lack basic knowledge of popular UK landmarks, a poll found.

A survey of 2,000 adults found almost half did not recognise Edinburgh Castle, with one in five confusing it with Dover Castle.

One in six were unable to identify Hadrian’s Wall on sight.

But two thirds of respondents recognised Bristol’s iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge and Albert Dock in Liverpool.

Participants were also tested on their knowledge of key locations, asking them to identify the county where specific cities and sites could be found.

The iconic silhouette of The Angel of the North was correctly identified by 83 per cent as sitting in Tyne and Wear.

However, one in seven of those polled would be incorrectly heading to Devon for their trip to Portsmouth, rather than its true home in Hampshire.

And only three in five would be able to find their way to the Eden Project, in Cornwall.

Amazingly, one in six were unable to name Cardiff as the capital of Wales, and 16 per cent failed to identify Edinburgh as the capital of Scotland.

Despite this, three in five British people polled via OnePoll.com consider themselves well-travelled, while three in 10 believe their knowledge of UK geography and locations is very good or better.

“The United Kingdom has so much to offer with regard to natural splendour and man-made sights and our research indicates that thousands may be unaware of what is right on their doorstep,“ said Chris Hardy, managing director of National Express, which commissioned the survey.

SWNS