Britain's least visited attractions revealed: The historic castles, churches and gardens where tourists might have the entire place to themselves

They’re the tourist sites that live in the shadows of heavyweights such as the British Museum, Edinburgh Castle or Westminster Abbey.

Drawing anywhere from a few dozen to a couple thousand visitors a month, Britain’s least visited attractions are a collection of small castles, restored homes, stunning gardens or historic churches where tourists might even have the entire place to themselves.

Scattered across the country, many compete with bigger attractions or are located in smaller communities where holidaymakers are few and far between and, with small budgets and limited operating seasons or hours, every donation or admission fee counts.

Drum Castle, one of Scotland's oldest tower houses, saw a visitor increase of nearly 50 per cent in 2015

One of Scotland’s oldest tower houses, Drum Castle, had 25,118 visitors in 2015, up nearly 50 per cent on the previous year, according to figures revealed today by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva).

Located 10 miles from Aberdeen, the castle was built in the 14th century and was occupied by the Irvine clan for more than 650 years.

Today, it is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and its opening days are limited to weekends and summer months, although the grounds are open year-round.

South-west of Birmingham lies the ruins of Weoley Castle, which are more than 750 years old and classified as a scheduled ancient monument of national importance.

Nearly 16,000 people paid a visit to the University of Cambridge’s Whipple Museum of the History of Science

A little over 5,000 people visited the site last year to get a glimpse of the remains of a fortified manor house – complete with a moat, towers and arrow slits – that was built as a deer hunting Lodge by the Lords of Dudley. The ruins are one of the oldest buildings still visible in Birmingham.

Billed as a fascinating time warp, Scotland’s Royal Burgh of Culross – a collection of buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries – averaged just under a thousand visitors a month.

Its town house, built in 1626, featured a tollbooth and prison for witches.

Nearly 16,000 people paid a visit to the University of Cambridge’s Whipple Museum of the History of Science, an increase of 19 per cent compared with 2014.

Founded in 1944, its collection includes scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures and books, with everything from mathematical sundials to globes dating from the 17th century.

Tens of thousands of Svalbard barnacle geese winter at WWT Caerlaverock, a wild nature reserve in Scotland

WWT Caerlaverock, a wild nature reserve in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, draws tens of thousands of Svalbard barnacle geese, which winter on the Solway Firth. The massive gathering helped to draw nearly 17,000 visitors.

Figures from Alva have revealed that the least visited of its 230 member sites in 2015 was the Birmingham’s Museum Collection Centre, where artefacts are stored when they are not on display.

The site, which had just 2,082 visits, up 12 per cent on 2014, is open to the public just once a month and these visits must be booked in advance.

At the top of the table was the British Museum, which had nearly seven million visitors and held onto its place as the UK’s most popular attraction.

Some 124.4 million visits were made to Alva's 230 sites last year, up 3.2 per cent on 2014.