Do Let the Sun Go Down On Me - Picturesque sunsets get Brits’ pulses racing

LUTON – September 2, 2008: Forget about eating oysters or sipping champagne, it’s more romantic to cosy up in a convertible with the one you love to watch the sunset.

This is according to research published by Vauxhall that reveals watching sunsets is Britons’ number one romantic pastime.

Over half of us (53%) think watching the sun go down is most likely to get us ‘in the mood’. Second on the love list is a candlelit dinner (34%), while sharing a bubble bath (8%) completes the top three.

According to this research, sunsets have been voted top of the list because they create a romantic atmosphere (64%), whilst a quarter of Brits (24%) said they feel sharing the experience brings them closer together with their partner. But, with daily hours of sunshine on the wane, Vauxhall is encouraging Brits to get behind the wheel and make the most of the remaining summer sunsets.

Despite our sunny outlook on love, the research reveals that the average Brit has only seen two sunsets in the UK in the past year. What’s more, nearly half of us (42%) haven’t enjoyed a sunset in the last 12 months.

Body-language and behavioural expert Judi James says:

“There are two key reasons why we find sunsets so romantic – the first of which relates to our senses. The range of stunning colours displayed can create a feeling of calm and happiness that is shared with anyone we’re with, often resulting in a minor form of what’s called an ‘ecstatic state’.

Secondly, there’s nothing that makes us more inclined towards love and romance than being gently reminded of our own mortality. Sunsets herald the end of the day and show us a moment of context, reminding us of our role in the universe rather than the minor issues of our daily lives.”

To prevent the sun going down on Britons relationships, Vauxhall has teamed up with sunset expert and travel guru, Paul Gogarty, to pinpoint the best places to watch the sun set in the UK before summer ends.

The list includes:

- Holy Island, Northumberland Drive over the causeway at low tide to Holy Island, park beside the marram-backed dunes within the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, then sit back and watch the waders turning over the warm embers of day as the sun sets over the Cheviots.

- The Marine Drive, Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales This is a scenic four-mile, £2.50 toll-road running round the Great Orme headland, from Llandudno's North Shore to its West Shore. Enjoy the sensational sea views all the way along as well as from the car park at the summit.

- The White Horse car park, Brancaster Staithe Norfolk Beached boats, mudflats and samphire – a heavenly demi-world of land and sea gilded by the late sun.

- Naze Tower, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex Looking west from the car park at Naze Tower (an 86-foot high lighthouse built in 1720 – climb to the top for even better views) you’ll have the sea on one side and the sun setting over the sublime Naze estuary on the other. Take in the islands, spits and crazily twisting serpentine waters.

- Margate harbour, Kent Margate is surrounded by water on three sides which means that despite being an east coast resort, you get a west facing sunset from the pier. Turner painted more canvases here than anywhere else – no one better captures the intensity of light and mood.

- The B3306 to St Ives, Cornwall Perhaps the finest coastal drive in the country with west facing views all the way out over the ocean. Pull over just about anywhere and you’re likely to have the place to yourself and the most romantic views on earth. Maybe that’s why D.H Lawrence wrote much of Women in Love here.

- Loch na Ceall bay at Arisaig, Scotland September is the best month for catching the sensational colour show of pink and red bleeding into purple as the sun slips down behind the offshore islands of Skye Rum and Eigg.

- Flamborough Head, Yorkshire Drive right up to the headland park. It will be bathed in late sunshine, the curving amphitheatre of the white cliffs glowing white and the sea surging through blowholes.

- Arnside, Morecambe Bay, Lancashire This is a very special place at sunset and particularly when the tide peels back to reveal mudflats, creeks, wildlife beneath soft light and Botticelli clouds.

M4 Port Talbot steel works, Wales The shimmering effect the steel works has on the sunset is simply sensational. Margham Park is the perfect place to pull over to take it all in.

Simon Ewart, Manager, Consumer Communications at Vauxhall, comments:

“There are so many romantic experiences for people to share, from sipping champagne to enjoying candlelit dinners, so it’s really refreshing to see Brits’ number one option is to enjoy a natural and beautiful sunset with a partner. What’s slightly disappointing is that so few seem to have enjoyed one in the past year. With only a month of summer left, our advice to romance seeking couples would be to grab the A-Z, jump in the car and head to the nearest destination on our top ten list!”