South West tops England for 8th year in National Tourism Awards

The finalists for the national VisitEngland awards have been announced and the South West’s position as England’s top region for quality have been further reinforced with 13 of the 53 finalists.

Nominations for the national awards were put forward following the South West Tourism Excellence awards in Exeter Cathedral in February, following a record year for the awards with 773 entries into the Dorset, Cornwall, Bristol, Bath and Somerset, Devon and South West awards. Since then the nominees have been through a further round of national judging leading to the announcement of national finalists.

Robin Barker from South West awards organisers Services for Tourism, commented: “In what is an extraordinarily difficult year for tourism and South West England it’s great to have this positive news to share.  The success of these businesses – and the region as a whole – pays real testament to the innovation, passion and commitment of tourism across the South West and I pay tribute to every one of them.  This year’s regional awards are also currently open for entry and I hope this news will encourage many more businesses to get involved.” 

The Cary Arms & Spa in South Devon is a finalist in the Small Hotel of the Year category. Hotelier Peter de Savary said: “How exciting! The staff at the Cary Arms deserve the credit for this honour, which is also very beneficial for Devon and Torbay. A big thank you also to our loyal clientele who have continued to support us and visit post lockdown."

The finalists are all invited to attend an online virtual event on Monday 17 August when they will be awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold award.

The South West finalists are:

ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE TOURISM AWARD

• Durlston Country Park National Nature Reserve, Dorset, durlston.co.uk @DurlstonCP
• Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School, Cornwall, mylorsailingschool.co.uk, @mylorsailing

B&B AND GUESTHOUSE OF THE YEAR

• The 25 Boutique B&B, Devon the25.uk @The25Torquay

EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR 

• Wild Wookey, Somerset wildwookey.co.uk, @wildwookey

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AWARD

• The Roman Baths & Pump Room, Bath romanbaths.co.uk @RomanBathsBath

LARGE HOTEL OF THE YEAR

• Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire lucknampark.co.uk @LucknamPark

LARGE VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR

• The Roman Baths & Pump Room, Bath romanbaths.co.uk @RomanBathsBath

 PUB OF THE YEAR

• Three Horseshoes Pub & Kitchen, Dorset threehorseshoesburtonbradstock.co.uk  @the_horseshoes

SELF CATERING ACCOMMODATION OF THE YEAR

• North Hayne Farm Cottages, Devon northhaynefarmcottages.co.uk @NorthHayne

SMALL HOTEL OF THE YEAR

• Cary Arms & Spa, Devon caryarms.co.uk, @caryarms

 SMALL VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR

• Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum, Dorset shirehalldorset.org @ShireHallDorset
• The Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath herschelmuseum.org.uk @HerschelMuseum

TASTE OF ENGLAND AWARD

• The Dining Room – Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire whatleymanor.com/eat-drink @Whatley_Manor

In addition to the above, finalists in four special award categories will be presented on the night, with further South West interest from the following:

TRAVEL CONTENT AWARD

• Helen Coffey, Independent.co.uk: Don’t let the Russian Poisonings put you off visiting Salisbury, the UK’s loveliest medieval city
• Rachel Dixon, The Guardian: Uncrowded Cornwall: fine food and walking on the Lizard

INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION AWARD

• Destination Bristol