VisitEngland reveals the winners of its VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2025, highlighting the very best of England’s outstanding tourism industry.
Gold, Silver and Bronze winners have been announced across 17 categories ranging from ‘New Tourism Business of the Year’ and ‘Pub of the Year’ to ‘Business Events Venue of the Year’ and ‘Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year’. The awards were presented at an evening ceremony on 4 June hosted by VisitEngland Advisory Board Chairman Lady Victoria Borwick at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange.
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.
“From a captivating science museum in Merseyside to a fully accessible hotel in Bournemouth, from cow cuddling on a farm in Yorkshire to fine dining in Lancashire, this year’s winners show just how varied and diverse our industry is and what makes it great.
“Competition this year was fierce, reflecting the excellence evident across each category and I congratulate all the 2025 winners, and especially those who won Gold, an achievement cementing their place as the standard bearers of our world-class tourism industry.”
In addition to the 16 core category award winners, three special awards were also presented this year including an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award,’ a ‘Travel Content Award’ and a ‘Tourism Superstar Award’.
The Tourism Superstar Award 2025 went to port volunteers the Southampton Saints, a team of 13 welcome ambassadors who greet visitors at the city’s port.
The Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award went to ‘Railway 200’, the 200th anniversary celebration of the first passenger railway, in recognition of its valuable role in highlighting the importance of our railway heritage and rail travel to domestic and inbound tourism in England.
The Travel Content Award, which recognises the media’s important contribution in championing domestic tourism, was won by Jane Anderson with her Isle of Wight wellness story for The i Paper entitled ‘The UK’s sunniest island vying to become a sauna isle’.
Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, generating about £76 billion annually for the economy in domestic visitor spending.
See below full list of VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2025 winners:
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award :
GOLD – Eureka! Science + Discovery, Merseyside
Silver – Marsham Court Hotel, Dorset
Bronze – The Courtyard, Herefordshire
B&B and Guest House of the Year:
GOLD – Sunnyside Guest House Southport, Merseyside
Silver – Abbots Grange Manor House, Worcestershire
Bronze – Boscastle House, Cornwall
Business Events Venue of the Year:
GOLD – Keele University Events and Conferencing, Staffordshire
Silver – Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement, Cheshire
Bronze – The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Tyne & Wear
Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year:
GOLD – Polmanter Touring Park, Cornwall
Silver – Mendip Basecamp, Somerset
Bronze – Hippersons Boatyard, Suffolk
Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award sponsored by Sykes Holiday Cottages:
GOLD – Sunnyside Guest House Southport, Merseyside
Silver – The Quiet Site, Cumbria
Bronze – Battlesteads, Northumberland
Experience of the Year:
GOLD – Cow Cuddling, Dumble Farm, East Riding of Yorkshire
Silver – The Wizard Walk of York, North Yorkshire
Bronze – Introduction to Sailing, Mylor Sailing School, Cornwall
International Tourism Award:
GOLD – The Beatles Story, Merseyside
Silver – World of Wedgwood, Staffordshire
Bronze – St Mary’s Guildhall, West Midlands
Large Hotel of the Year sponsored by Ecclesiastical:
GOLD – Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa, Warwickshire
Silver – Sandburn Hall, North Yorkshire
Bronze – Titanic Hotel Liverpool, Merseyside
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year sponsored by Raw Charging Network Ltd:
GOLD – Black Country Living Museum, West Midlands
Silver – National Space Centre, Leicestershire
Bronze – Liverpool Football Club Tours & Experiences, Merseyside
New Tourism Business of the Year:
GOLD – Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum & Whisky Distillery, Northumberland
Silver – Eureka! Science + Discovery, Merseyside
Bronze – Eight at Gazegill by Doug Crampton, Lancashire
Pub of the Year:
GOLD – The Farmers Arms, Devon
Silver – The Blind Bull, Derbyshire
Bronze – The Griffin Inn, Leicestershire
Self Catering Accommodation of the Year sponsored by Sykes Holiday Cottages:
GOLD – Treworgey Cottages, Cornwall
Silver – Trevase Cottages, Herefordshire
Bronze – Wolf Wood Treehouses, Devon
Small Hotel of the Year:
GOLD – Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Dorset
Silver – Seaham Hall, County Durham
Bronze – The Montagu Arms Hotel, Hampshire
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year:
GOLD – No.1 Royal Crescent, Bath
Silver – King Richard III Visitor Centre, Leicestershire
Bronze – Sculpture by the Lakes, Dorset
Taste of England Award:
GOLD – The Cavendish Hotel, Derbyshire
Silver – Searcys at The Pump Room, Bath
Bronze – The Riverside at Aymestrey, Herefordshire
Unsung Hero Award:
GOLD – Hannah Clapp, Muncaster Castle, Cumbria
Silver – Caitlin Brown, The Escape Key, Tyne & Wear
Bronze – Andrew Hurley, Avoncroft Museum, Worcestershire
Travel Content Award:
GOLD – Jane Anderson, The i Paper – ‘The UK’s sunniest island vying to become a ‘sauna isle’
Silver – Phoebe Smith, The Guardian – ‘Saving the seas one dive at a time in Northumberland’
Bronze – Hannah Summers, The Times – ‘The British seaside town at its best (and cheapest) in winter’
Tourism Superstar 2025 Award:
Southampton Saints
Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award:
Railway 200
