The Lake District has more than 12 million visitors every year

Scottish tourism bosses have set up a rival "embassy" in the Lake District to try to attract visitors to their region.

The Scottish Borders Tourist Board (SBTB) has established a temporary booth near Keswick, Cumbria.

It is manned by a staff member whose job is to promote the Borders and its attractions to residents of and visitors to the Lake District.

The SBTB believes its region offers an equally beautiful, but less crowded alternative to the Lakes, which has more than 12 million visitors every year.

Fiona Drane, the SBTB's director of customer marketing, said: "The Lake District is one of a number of popular locations in the UK that can often get a bit too busy for some people's liking during peak periods.

Failed bid

"What we don't have, however, is the crowds, which means that our visitors can enjoy the space and serenity of countryside, towns and villages as they are meant to be experienced."

She said the setting up of the embassy was part of a drive to promote the Scottish borders.

She said: "The establishment of an embassy of our own in a "foreign" land is a natural extension of this which aims to raise the profile of the region and encourage more short break visitors to come to the Borders."

The latest initiative follows a bid by the SBTB last year to buy back the historic town of Berwick from England, which it failed to achieve.