Nominees from the South West were big winners at last week’s national Visit England Awards for Excellence in Brighton, with 12 of the 48 category awards going to South West nominees.
This followed their nominations following winning Gold awards in last year’s Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Bristol Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards.
National winners were:
- CORNWALL: Gold to Polmanter Touring Park, St Ives – Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year, Gold to Treworgey Cottages, Liskeard – Self Catering Accommodation of the Year, Bronze to Introduction to Sailing at Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School, Mylor – Experience of the Year, Bronze to Boscastle House, Boscastle – B&B and Guest House of the Year
- DEVON: Gold to The Farmers Arms, Bideford – Pub of the Year, Bronze to Wolf Wood Treehouses, Okehampton – Self Catering Accommodation of the Year
- BRISTOL, BATH AND SOMERSET: Gold to No 1 The Crescent, Bath – Small Visitor Attraction of the Year, Silver to Mendip Basecamp, Churchill – Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year, Silver to Searcys at The Pump Room, Bath – Taste of England Award
- DORSET: Gold to Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Evershot – Small Hotel of the Year, Silver to Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth – Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award, Bronze to Sculpture by the Lakes, Pallington – Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
The prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence have been running for more than 30 years. This year’s winners were selected from hundreds of tourism businesses across England including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums, forwarded to the national competition via local and regional competitions across England.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “These annual Awards are an opportunity to applaud and showcase the businesses and individuals who provide outstanding customer service and continuously improve their products and offer for visitors.”
Robin Barker from the Services for Tourism, who run the South West’s awards, said: “It was a delight sharing the evening with these fantastic businesses, all of them demonstrating their excellence, sustainability and resilience amongst the country’s best. I was honoured to be there with them.”
This year’s Tourism Awards in the South West saw an increase of 647 entries from Bristol, Bath and Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall with entries currently being judged and awards celebrations in October and November.
(Photo (taken by Robin Barker on the night) features winners from left to right: Polmanter Touring Park, Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School, Treworgey Cottages, Boscastle House.)
