Lancashire winners pick up Gold & Silver national award

Lancashire Gold Winner: Blackpool Illuminations, Tourism Event of the Year 

Lancashire Silver Winner: The Ashton, B&B, Lancaster

Extracts from Visit England release follows :

VisitEngland announces Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2010 winners

The National Trust has scooped VisitEngland’s Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for its unswerving role as the bastion of some of England’s most beautiful and outstanding attractions.

This special award is granted by the VisitEngland Board at the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, sponsored by the Caravan Club, to recognise organisations or individuals who have had an exceptional impact on English tourism. Previous winners have included the Duchess of Northumberland, Manchester United FC, the English pub and Michael Eavis, the driving force behind Glastonbury.

Founded in 1895, with a membership of 3.8million, 55,000 volunteers, and a record 17.2 million visits last year, the National Trust, like the BBC has become part of the national consciousness.  Presiding over 600,000 acres of countryside, 700 miles of coastline and 350 plus historic houses and gardens, the independent charity includes many of the most beautiful and outstanding attractions England has to offer visitors and locals alike. 

With a clear vision to promote the benefits of the outdoors and a commitment to raising awareness of England’s outstanding coastline and countryside, the National Trust this year is focused on encouraging visitors and locals to get out and experience what can only be enjoyed and treasured in England. 

VisitEngland Chairman Penelope Viscountess Cobham commented: “At well over a hundred years old, this veritable institution has evolved to suit the time.  The VisitEngland Board was impressed by the organisation’s ability to continue to change and adapt while conserving its core values to preserve and care for our national treasures for the maximum enjoyment and pleasure of all.  Here’s to a 21st Century National Trust and the next one hundred years of guardianship.”

Sir Simon Jenkins, Chairman of the National Trust said: “Octavia Hill, one of our founders, helped set up our charity to look after beautiful places for the "everlasting delight of the people". We want everyone to be able to enjoy the special places that we care for and our passion is for the spirit of each place that is unique, individual, distinctive and local. We are honoured and delighted to accept this award on behalf our millions of members and visitors, our 55,000 volunteers and our dedicated staff.”

Other awards announced last night at the VisitEngland St George’s Day ceremony in Brighton, included the best bed & breakfast in England, best small hotel, visitor attraction, sustainability and caravan holiday park of the year. The 46 gold and silver winners were selected from over 100 regional winners submitted by the nine regions of England and were rigorously assessed by independent assessors and a team of judges to make it through to the national final.  The finalists were selected by a panel of tourism industry judges which included previous Gold winners, travel journalists and industry experts.  

VisitEngland Chief Executive, James Berresford said: “The fantastic diversity and quality of tourism product across the length and breadth of England means we can compete confidently on the international stage, making this country a must visit destination for Brits and overseas visitors.”

Brian Richardson, executive secretary of The Caravan Club, headline sponsor of the awards, said: “The Caravan Club is delighted to support these prestigious awards which recognise such high standards of quality across the whole spectrum of English tourism. We know these award winners will be beacons of inspiration for many other tourism companies to follow.”

And the gold winners are:

§ Access for All Tourism Award – imago at Burleigh Court, Loughborough, Leicestershire (East Midlands)

§  Bed and Breakfast/Guest Accommodation – The Old School, Alnwick, Northumberland (North East)

§  Best Tourism Experience – Livingstone Lodge Overnight Safari, near Hythe, Kent (South East)

§  Business Tourism Award – ExCeL London (London)

§  Caravan Holiday Park – Trethem Mill Touring Park, Truro, Cornwall (South West)

§  Large Hotel (Over 35 bedrooms) – Thurlestone Hotel, Kingsbridge, Devon (South West)

§  Large Visitor Attraction (Over 100,000 visitors) – RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey (South East)

§  Outstanding Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool (North West)

§  Self Catering Holiday of the Year – Blakelow Farm Holiday Cottages, Winster, Derbyshire (East Midlands)

§  Small Hotel of the Year (Under 50 Bedrooms) – Gilpin Lodge Country House, Windermere, The Lake District (North West)

§  Small Visitor Attraction (Under 50,000) – Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham (The Heart of England)

§  Sustainable Tourism Award – Crown Spa Hotel, Scarborough (Yorkshire)

§  Taste of England Award – The Bildeston Crown, Bildeston, Suffolk (East of England)

§  Tourism Event – Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool (North West)

§  Tourist Information Service – Nottingham Tourism Centre, Nottingham (East Midlands)

For further information on the awards, please visit www.enjoyengland.com/excellence

– ENDS –

For further press information contact:

Lucy Pennington/Pegi Amarteifio, bgb: 020 7902 2990, [email protected] / 07515 629 580, [email protected] / 07841 672 399

Stephanie Boyle / Sarah Long, VisitEngland: [email protected] / 020 7578 1446  [email protected] / 020 7578 1452