It's been an exciting few weeks up here in northern England; not only has the sun been shining, but Yorkshire has hosted the Tour de France, won 46 medals at the Commonwealth Games and been voted "Europe's Leading Destination" at the World Travel Awards.
Here at Swift, we've always been proud to call Yorkshire our home and the annual Yorkshire Day gave us the perfect opportunity to find out if our Swift Insight members around the region felt the same.
As always, the people of Yorkshire were keen to have their say and the results show we're not alone; not a single Yorkshire-born respondent said they weren't proud of their heritage and a staggering 87% claim to be "extremely proud" or "very proud". So, whilst our reputation for flat caps and whippets may not be as justified as it once was, it seems Yorkshire pride is still alive and well.
When it came to telling us the best thing about our region, there was one clear winner as 67% of respondents claim the scenery and landscape are Yorkshire's top asset. From hills to coastlines and thriving cities to cobbled streets, it seems there's something to suit everybody and words such as "variety" and "diversity" occurred frequently in comments.
Surprisingly Yorkshire folk don't seem to be lacking self-confidence, as they voted themselves the second best thing the region has to offer (despite some tough competition from the likes of Yorkshire puddings, fish and chips and Yorkshire Tea)! Whilst modesty may not be a strong point, in general the people of Yorkshire consider themselves to be friendly, kind, honest and "down to earth".
When it comes to what they'd like to see improved within the region, the weather was by far the most common complaint, giving some justification to the reputation of it being "grim up north". Better public transport links, improved upkeep of certain areas and a greater emphasis on maintaining the Yorkshire lifestyle were amongst other suggestions, whilst several of our residents would be keen to see an expansion into some of our neighbouring counties!
However, it came as no surprise to us, that the majority of people interviewed said there's nothing that can be done to improve Yorkshire - it's perfect just the way it is!
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