Officials at Lincoln Cathedral are delighted with an 8% increase in visitors so far this year.

They say the showery weather in mid-summer has helped to boost the number of visitors, especially in July when figures were up 14%.

But visitors are 50% down at Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire - and officials are blaming the bad weather.

Serious slump

They had hoped the opening of the Southwell Workhouse would increase the number of visitors.

The serious slump in visitors has affected the building's finances.

A spokesman for the minster, John Webster, says the decline may have simply been down to comparison with last year, when the weather was exceptionally good.

At Lincoln Cathedral, a number of exhibitions and special events have brought more people through the doors than last summer.

However, early indications are that the downpours have meant fewer people have chosen the cathedral as a tourist destination in August.