THE Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has been named one of the UK’s top sights by Lonely Planet.

The park makes the 10th place out of 500 on the list compiled by the leading travel media company, which describes it as a 'ravishing stretch of cliff-flanked coves, thrashing seas, wildflower-freckled moors and hedgerowed tracks leading to one-pub villages'.

For the first time, Lonely Planet has compiled a ranked list of the top 500 unmissable experiences and hidden gems across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands to create 'the ultimate UK travel hitlist' which features in a new guidebook.

Topping the list is the Edinburgh Festival, while the top 20 also features the Giant’s Causeway, Stonehenge, Stratford-Upon-Avon and London’s St Paul’s Cathedral.

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is the only Welsh entry in the Lonely Planet list’s top 20, but Skomer and its puffins come in at number 59; coasteering in Pembrokeshire is in 79th spot and St David’s Cathedral is 93rd.

Tenby – whose Castle Beach was recently named the best in the UK by the Sunday Times – is named in 148th place, with the ‘sublime’ Barafundle Bay taking 185th slot.

Altogether, a total of 47 Welsh sights and experiences feature on the list.

It was created following the Lonely Planet team compiling every highlight from their guidebooks to Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Everyone in Lonely Planet’s London office, plus 20 leading figures in the country’s travel sector, were then asked to reveal their favourite spots and experiences before the voting began. Everybody in Lonely Planet’s UK community was asked to vote for their top 20 experiences.

With hundreds of votes cast, Lonely Planet ended up with a score for each of the 500 experiences in the book.

Lonely Planet’s VP of Experience, Tom Hall, said: “Lonely Planet’s Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist brings together the UK’s most compelling sights and experiences, ranging from world-class museums and giant cathedrals to rollicking festivals, inky lochs and tiny pubs. We’re thrilled to name the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park one of the UK’s very best experiences - it offers staggering beauty, adventure and a wonderful escape.”

* Lonely Planet’s Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist is now on sale, price £19.99