DRAX Power Station near Selby welcomed more than 700 visitors this summer, new figures reveal.

Staff at the UK’s biggest power station say tours and visits to the site sold out this July and August for the first time in its history as increasingly more people chose the plant as an alternative day trip destination.

Almost 500 people opted to take a tour of the power station, which generates enough electricity each day to power more than six million homes. The site includes a 380-acre nature reserve used regularly by visitors and school children to Drax’s visitor centre to learn more about the energy produced there.

A further 223 visitors joined a series of educational summer activities at the site based around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills including exploring surface tension with bubbles and building an electromagnetic train, bridges, towers and even a giant balloon tower.

Other activities made use of the site’s Skylark nature reserve, including sessions to learn more about the wildlife there and fun lessons on how to build a survival shelter from materials found in woodland. Jane Breach, community engagement and visitor centre team leader at Drax, said: “It just goes to show that people are looking for different things to do during the summer.

“Working with the community is hugely important to us, so to see people coming here from the local area has been great, but we’ve also seen quite a few coming from further afield - they all seem to think a power station is a really interesting place to spend a day of their summer holidays.

“We’ve had some great events with lots of fun and smiles from children and adults. We’ve also had a lot of people who have enjoyed finding out about what Drax Power Station does and the renewable energy we produce here - more than two-thirds of the electricity we generate is now renewable.”

To arrange a visit, go to www.drax.com/visit-us. All tours are free.