A while back we did this slightly niche ranking:

A Very Attractive University Ranking

This particular league table looked at university buildings and centres which appear in the list of top visitor attractions in the UK. The source data for this ranking was not necessarily comprehensive as it only included attractions which are in membership of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions. Unfortunately only three universities appeared in the list.

So we thought we would go for something a little more inclusive. This league table then is drawn from Tripadvisor – it’s the ranking of educational sites, ordered by traveller favourites. The sites are apparently ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, number of page views, and user location. All sounds pretty robust to me – these people must know what they are doing with this kind of data, right?

Here then are your leading placings with the top spot surely not at all influenced by Harry Potter fandom.

The Tripadvisor Fave Educational Sites Top 10

It’s an impressive top 10. And good news that Cambridge was able to hold its place in the upper reaches despite the challenges from farms and cuddly creatures.

A Different Angle

A slightly different cut of the data results in a rather different listing. This ranking features the highest rated attractions on Tripadvisor, based on traveller reviews.

There are three universities in the top 10 but they are very much at the lower end of the list. It’s hard to compete with the attractions of Cuddly Colony it seems.

The Tripadvisor Educational Sites by Traveller Ranking Top 10

1. Cuddly Colony
2. The Bug Parc
3. Stourbridge Glass Museum
4. Britannia Royal Naval College
5. Cumulus Outdoors
6. Claymills Victorian Pumping Station
7. Hall Hill Farm
8. University of Glasgow
9. University of Oxford
10. University of Cambridge

I’m sure there are other university attractions which could make it to the top of either list. We will have to wait and see.