Britains Las Vegas is Norwich - Head for the world’s pleasure hotspots this Bank Holiday - 23 May 2003
With the Spring Bank Holiday looming, millions of Britons are packing their bags and heading for sunnier climes. But for those left behind facing Bank Holiday blues under leaden skies, there’s more to the long weekend than DIY and a lie-in.Yellow Pages, the UK’s leading classified directory has ‘twinned’ the world’s leading leisure and pleasure hotspots with their British equivalents to come up with the definitive blueprint for Bank Holiday fun. Using a database of over 1.9 million businesses, Yellow Pages has identified the highest number of leisure classifications per directory*, covering everything from winelands to wildlife havens.
So if you fancy a flutter in Britain’s very own Vegas or a dip in Blighty’s Great Barrier Reef, look no further than the Yellow Pages Bank Holiday Leisure League. As well as discovering that the Norwich Yellow Pages directory boasts more amusement arcades than any other in Britain (followed by York and Glasgow) the analysis also reveals the following:
- THE YELLOW PAGES LEISURE LEAGUE
| Activity | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | Global Equivalent |
| Amusement Parks & Arcades | Norwich | York | Glasgow | Las Vegas, USA |
| Canoeing & Kayaking | Plymouth | Nottingham | Gloucester | Zambezi River, Zimbabwe |
| Karting | Leicester | York | Plymouth | Monaco |
| Water Sports | Plymouth | Exeter | Swansea | Waikiki, Hawaii |
| Scuba Diving | Plymouth | Bournemouth | Aberdeen | Great Barrier Reef, Australia |
| Wine Tasting | Tunbridge Wells | Southampton | Brighton | Bordeaux, France |
| Motor Sports | Northampton | Oxford | Shrewsbury | Santa Pod, USA |
| Breweries | Exeter | Plymouth | York | Munich, Germany |
| Cinemas | London | Exeter | Glasgow | Hollywood, USA |
| Factory Outlet Shopping | Chesterfield | Stoke | York | New Jersey, USA |
| Lingerie Shopping | London | Glasgow | Preston | Paris, France |
| Spas & Hot Tubs | Maidstone | Gatwick | Exeter | Los Angeles, USA |
| Nature & Wildlife Parks | Middlesbrough | Norwich/ Manchester | Swansea | Masai Mara, Kenya |
The Leisure League Low Down
For a Bank Holiday flutter high rollers should place their bets on Norwich whose Yellow Pages carries more listings for Amusement Parks and Arcades than the Preston directory which includes Blackpool.
Wildlife lovers going back to nature and wanting safari without the Serengeti might like to try Britain’s unlikely Nature and Wildlife paradises, located around the Middlesbrough directory area.
Getting to Australia and back over the course of a Bank Holiday’s a tall order, but scuba divers who can’t make it to the Great Barrier Reef should test the waters around the Plymouth and Bournemouth areas, or if they’re feeling particularly brave Aberdeen!
While budding Ellen MacArthurs might be surprised to learn that Colchester and Exeter are up there with Britain’s best known seafaring towns (Southampton and Plymouth) when it comes to the number of sailing instructors available for hire in their directories. For those rigging out a craft for a longer voyage, again, Aberdeen is the area to head for as Britain’s top port of call for boating supplies.
If water sports do more to float your boat then dig out your board and go west. Plymouth again makes waves as Britain’s alternative Waikiki beach, followed by Exeter and Swansea. And sticking to the aquatic theme, white-water fanatics seeking thrills closer to home than the Zambezi River should paddle towards the Nottingham directory area, where Britain’s greatest proliferation of specialist canoeing and kayaking suppliers has sprung up around the National Watersports Centre.
For karting fans whose fuel allowance won’t stretch to Monaco, the Leicester directory area is Britain’s ‘karting kapital’ – though for other motor sports, Northampton’s directory snatches pole position.
Real ale enthusiasts should raise their glass to the West Country – Exeter’s Yellow Pages lists more breweries than anywhere else in Britain – while for those who’d rather sip than sink, Britain’s Napa Valley is Tunbridge Wells whose directory lists the most Wine Producers and Vineyards.
For sheer quantity of places to eat (with the exception of London) Glasgow’s directory offers Britain’s most numerous restaurant menu. While those looking for a Bank Holiday detox should head to England’s capital, with its abundance of health food shops.
And for a leisurely post-prandial cruise to aid the digestion, look no further than Norwich once again. With the most boat hire services in its Yellow Pages, it’s Britain’s equivalent of the Costa del Sol’s Puerto Banus.
If shopping’s what you fancy Northern romantics seeking saucy smalls for their lover should forget Paris and head for Preston, which, after London and Glasgow (South), has the most directory listings for Lingerie and Hosiery Retailers in Britain, while Chesterfield and Mansfield give the States a run for its value for money, sitting at the top of Britain’s Factory Outlet Shopping list.
London wouldn’t be the city it is without a buzzing social scene, but elsewhere in England, mini-Ibizas can be found as far and wide as Preston and Plymouth, with more Nightclub listings in their Yellow Pages than any other British edition.
But for pub lovers wanting to avoid London prices, Sheffield is second only to the capital as the place to prop up the bar, with listings in its directory for roughly three pubs for every day of the year. And if traditional hostelries aren’t quite upmarket enough, head for trendy Liverpool’s wine bars. Outside London, more wine bars are listed in the Mersey Yellow Pages than any other.
Fanatical about film? Away from London’s West End, Britain’s Hollywood can be found in Exeter, with the most cinema listings in its directory – followed closely by Glasgow and historic Canterbury – more associated with Chaucer’s Tales than big-screen blockbusters.
And finally, stressed workers looking for Britain’s LA equivalent for a spot of Bank Holiday wind-down luxury, could float across to Maidstone, Kent, whose directory positively bubbles with the most Spa and Hot Tub entries.
Commenting on the findings Richard Duggleby, head of external relations at Yell, publisher of Yellow Pages, said: “Who needs to go abroad this Bank Holiday when we’ve got so much to choose from at home? What surprised us about this research was not only the sheer choice of leisure and pleasure options in our major cities, but also the diversity of activities available in other parts of the country. And even if the sun doesn’t shine on Monday, a quick look in your local Yellow Pages Living in Your Area guide will reveal lots of hidden gems undercover, to help us all make the most of our day off.”
