A Nantwich church has been named among Cheshire East's top-rated visitor attractions in new research analysing Google reviews.

St Mary's Church in Nantwich ranked fifth in the borough, with an average rating of 4.73 stars from 436 reviews.

The historic church was included in a list of 21 attractions compiled by web experts SEO Backlinks for the October half-term.

Gauntlet Birds of Prey, Eagle and Vulture Park in Knutsford topped the rankings with 4.88 stars from 1,565 reviews.

The National Trust's Quarry Bank in Styal came second with 4.75 stars from 9,241 reviews, followed by Tegg's Nose Country Park near Macclesfield and Little Moreton Hall near Congleton, both rated 4.74 stars.

St Mary's Church received praise from one recent reviewer, who wrote: "One of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen."

The rest of the top 10 included Brookside Miniature Railway in Poynton in sixth place with 4.72 stars, Lyme at Disley in seventh with 4.71, Alderley Edge in eighth with 4.68, Mow Cop Castle in ninth with 4.65 and Brereton Heath Local Nature Reserve in 10th with 4.64.

The research involved more than 3,000 Google Maps searches carried out on October 20, with further searches by town and attraction name to identify places missed in the initial sweep.

SEO Backlinks assessed 21 attractions across Cheshire East with at least 300 Google reviews, covering 57,470 reviews in total.

The ranking included country parks, nature reserves, historic houses and gardens, museums, churches, landmarks and animal and family attractions. Shops, restaurants, hotels, leisure venues and town parks were excluded.

Founder of SEO Backlinks, Daniel Weston, said: "With half-term this week, a lot of families in Cheshire East will be looking for somewhere to go.

"The borough's best-rated places cover just about everything, from birds of prey and a miniature railway to a Tudor hall and big country walks.

"A few of the top 10, like Tegg's Nose, Brereton Heath and Mow Cop Castle, are free to visit, so you'd only be paying for parking.

"Tatton Park has nearly 13,000 reviews, more than anywhere else in the borough by a long way, and keeping an average that high at that size is hard to do.

"Whatever you're planning, it's worth reading the latest reviews first, because they tell you how a place is doing right now."

St Mary's was the only Nantwich attraction to feature in the top 10.

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