Nelson's County placed third in the ranking by experts at Outdoortoys, who compared destinations on factors such as their population, green spaces, outdoor amenities, child-friendly restaurants and campsites.

Norfolk earned an overall score of 7.3 out of 10, with 15 outdoor amenities per 10,000 people among the deciding factors.

A total of 49pc of Norfolk's restaurants were found to be child-friendly and there are 1.16 campsites per 10,000 people.

Northumberland came in first place with an overall score of 7.85 out of 10, and Warwickshire came second with 7.43 out of 10.

Nearby Suffolk was also included in the top 10, scoring 6.23 out of 10.

Nick Paulson, product and category manager at Outdoortoys, said: “Planning a family holiday doesn’t have to mean long-haul flights and complicated itineraries.

"What really matters is time spent together – outdoors, exploring, learning, and laughing."

© Norwich Evening News