Cannock Chase Forest named among UK's 'most Instagrammed places'

The popular nature space is frequently used by locals across the region who find joy in being in the great outdoors, and also plays host to Forest live, a nature-highlighting music festival which attracts performances from some of the UK's most popular music artists.

And it's now proving popular among social media junkies who are constantly on the hunt for picturesque places to snap their next set of follower-gaining photos.

The study, conducted by the outdoor experts at GO Outdoors, looked at factors including cost, the number of Google searches of the destinations, the average Google rating and the number of Instagram posts to reveal the top 10 best free activities.

In the list Cannock Chase Forest came out at number nine, with 160,785 Instagram posts, just above Scotland's Ben Lomond which had 118,964 posts, and below London's Tate Britain which had 269,000 posts.

As a whole, the patch covers 26 square miles while being the largest surviving area of lowland heath in the Midlands.

The popular forest is littered with positive reviews on Google, with a 4.7/5 rating across 745 reviews.

One visitor, Dr Jamie Smith, said: "Cannock Chase Forest is outstandingly beautiful and a joy to explore either walking, on a mountain bike or on horse back. For the best experience - and to see more of the forest which covers many square miles - an e-bike is the way to do it. There are various routes into the forest, most are well signposted and the visitor centre is worth a visit with a cafe, toilets and excellent mountain biking cycle shop nearby at the entrance to the trails.

"The Forestry Commission does a great job of maintaining the forest and its trails and it's well worth a visit. It looks beautiful in all seasons."

Dominic Ward said: "Expansive forest with countless activities for all ages and abilities. Mountain bike trails, walking routes, child based adventure trails, playgrounds, den building, cafes and picnic locations."

In 1958, it was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is home to a number of rare and endangered birds - including migrant nightjars - while also having a feeding station at the Marquis Drive Visitors’ Centre, sponsored by the West Midland Bird Club which attracts many species, including bramblings, yellowhammers and bullfinches.

Elsewhere in the survey, the Tate Modern was crowned the most Instagrammable free attraction, with over 1.2 million posts. The art gallery is located in London and was founded in 1889, and is now one of the world’s largest museums of modern and contemporary art and is a globally recognised attraction.

St Albans follows in second place with over 772,000 Instagram posts. The city is packed full of heritage making it a great place to walk around and take in the sites, with St Albans Museum + Gallery and St Albans Cathedral both free to visit.

Rounding out the top three is The Hermitage, a National Trust for Scotland-protected site in Dunkeld. The picturesque site has several walks, varying in length, and is home to one of Britain's tallest Douglas fir trees.