Eight is Lancashire’s number one in national tourism awards
Eight at Gazegill by Doug Crampton, winner of the Lancashire Tourism Award for New Business of the year, has now been named a finalist in the same category in the national Visit England Awards for Excellence 2025.
VisitEngland has today, 1 April, announced the finalists who will go forward to the tourism industry’s national Awards for Excellence. The winners of the regional competitions, including those qualifying businesses in the Marketing Lancashire’s Lancashire Tourism Awards held earlier this year, then progressed to the national awards competition, with Eight at Gazegill by Doug Crampton being the only Lancashire winner to make this year’s list of national finalists.
The 52 national finalists, selected following a rigorous judging process by handpicked tourism industry experts, go on to compete in 16 core categories at the Visit England Awards for Excellence, with the awards presented at a ceremony at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange on 4 June.
Competing for Gold, Silver and Bronze in this year’s national New Tourism Business of the Year category alongside Eight at Gazegill by Doug Crampton are Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum & Whisky Distillery, in Northumberland, and Eureka! Science + Discovery, on Merseyside.
Vikki Harris, Marketing and Partnerships Director of Marketing Lancashire said
“We are absolutely thrilled to see Eight at Gazegill in the list of finalists for this year’s national Visit England Awards for Excellence, especially in the new business category which shows how new tourism businesses can come to life and flourish in Lancashire.
“It was a long-held dream of Gazegill Organics to open a truly sustainable farm-to-fork restaurant on their ancestral family farm and they have done this with incredible style, under the experienced and acclaimed chef Doug Crampton.
“Congratulations to the whole Gazegill team on achieving this national recognition and we look forward to supporting you at the ceremony in June.”
Ian O’Reilly, MD and owner of Eight at Gazegill and Gazegill Organics Farm said
“To be the only Lancashire finalist in such a prestigious national competition is a huge honour. From the very beginning, our mission has been to create a truly unique, sustainable, and locally rooted dining experience, showcasing our produce from the farm and promoting the connection between land and food. Being recognised at this level reinforces that we are on the right path, and we couldn’t have achieved this without the dedication of our team and the support of our wonderful guests.”
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“England’s tourism industry has good reason to celebrate. As the finalists demonstrate, businesses across every region provide outstanding customer service along with high quality experiences while constantly innovating to find new ways to give more to visitors and the communities they serve.
“The applications to this year’s awards and the list of finalists are a testament to the range of first-class products on offer to both domestic and international visitors. I congratulate all the finalists who are already winners, and I wish them the very best of luck.”
This year’s national awards worked in collaboration with 21 regional competitions from across England with winners automatically put forward for the national awards. There were 1,800 applications to the 21 aligned regional awards with 360 applicants forwarded for judging in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.
Finalists are invited to attend the national awards ceremony, held at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange on 4 June, where Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be announced at the black tie event.
Tourism is one of England’s largest, most valuable industries, supporting more than 200,000 businesses, employing 2.6 million people and generating about £76 billion in domestic visitor spending.
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