Leicestershire canal voted UK's most scenic waterside setting

The most highly-rated picture was taken at the Grand Union Canal

A canal has been voted the nation's most scenic waterside setting in a survey by the body that looks after many of England and Wales' waterways.

The Canal and River Trust carried out the online survey in October, in which people voted for their favourite photograph of a waterside landscape.

The highest-rated scene in the study was a picture taken at Grand Union Canal in Wistow, Leicestershire.

The trust said the results were fascinating.

The trust said reflections on the water, such as this one at Caen Hill on the Kennet and Avon, were popular features

It said the winning image had featured an early summer evening with a setting sun casting a warm orange glow on the fields beneath, all of which was captured in reflections along the canal itself.

Alex Hannam, a professional photographer from Leicester said: "I often walk my dog along that stretch of the canal.

"The sunset looked particularly good that evening, so I fired off a few snaps.

"I never expected it would end up being the highest rated image in the UK.

"I'm glad I left the house with my camera that day."

The trust said the study was the largest of its kind conducted on the UK's waterside spaces.

More than 5,000 images were submitted by members of the public under the initiative, named Rate this Scene.

The trust said it hoped the study would help it protect and enhance beautiful features on the waterways

Heather Clarke, strategy, engagement and impact director at the trust, said: "This research is fascinating because we are learning more about the scenic quality of the trust's waterways and how this everyday beauty can help make the many visitors to our network happier and healthier.

"Rate this Scene is helping us to identify the underlying contributory factors to beauty on the waterways so that we can better protect and enhance those features across the network."

The project was backed by a number of celebrities including Grayson Perry, who put forward a body of his own photographs, Chris Packham, Gaby Roslin, Jo Brand, Angellica Bell, Tony Robinson, Dr Amir Khan, Iolo Williams and Brian Blessed.

The six-week study saw more than 15,000 people casting 843,183 votes to rate the scenic quality of the pictures.

The survey was backed by celebrities

The trust worked with the University of Warwick and the Fellows of The Alan Turing Institute on the research, which it said it hoped would provide insights into the importance of "everyday beauty".

It said the most popular scenic features included trees, reflections on the water and big skies.

When such features were combined with boats, bridges, locks and marginal vegetation, they were deemed even more aesthetically pleasing.

The other top 10 images featured: Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (Wolverhampton), Lancaster Canal (Lancaster), Shropshire Union Canal (Lapley), Mid-Wales Brecon Canal (Powys), Caen Hill on the Kennet & Avon (Devizies), Stainforth and Keadby Canal (Doncaster), Tame Valley Canal (Birmingham), Stratford-upon-Avon Canal (Stratford-upon-Avon) and Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal (Abergavenny).

The trust said the study highlighted the importance of everyday beauty to visitors

Suzy Moat, a professor of behavioural science and a director of the Data Science Lab, Warwick Business School, said: "We found that beautiful locations are not only natural locations or green locations.

"Crucially, in built-up urban locations, we found that the biggest boost to scenic scores was provided by the presence of a canal. Rivers also score highly."