Awards celebrate the very best our booming region has to offer
FROM country pubs to stylish B&Bs to some of the best known attractions in the world. The West Midlands is home to a fantastic array of visitor attractions, which helped to bring more than 131 million visitors to our region in 2018 – a 2.6 per cent increase on the previous year.
They contributed £12.6bn to the region’s economy, a rise of 6.7 per cent, according to the latest figures from the West Midlands Growth Company.
And with Coventry set to celebrate the UK Capital of Culture in 2021 and Birmingham hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games these numbers are expected to increase.
We’re celebrating the businesses behind this brilliant success. An array of impressive organisations entered the inaugural West Midlands Tourism Awards and panels of judges, featuring industry experts, had a difficult task in choosing a shortlist for the 15 categories.
West Midlands Growth Company is supporting the inaugural West Midlands Tourism Awards, which will be held at the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham on February 26.
Here’s the shortlist:
ACCESSIBLE & INCLUSIVE TOURISM AWARD
■ Birmingham Hippodrome –
One of the largest touring theatres in the UK featuring the best musicals, dance, opera ballet and pantomime
■ Royal Shakespeare Company – Creating quality theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world
B&B / GUEST HOUSE OF THE YEAR
■ Avonlea – B&B in Stratfordupon-Avon proudly offering comfy rooms and good, hearty breakfasts Broom Park Farm – B&B in
■Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster, offering guests the opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in a tranquil, rural location
■ Victoria Spa Lodge – Recently refurbished B&B set in a mansion in Stratford-uponAvon featuring two springs which bubble up in the basement
BUSINESS EVENTS VENUE OF THE YEAR
■ Coombe Abbey – Historic four-star hotel in Warwickshire is an ideal conference venue with 11 meeting rooms
■ ICC Birmingham – Major conference venue incorporating Symphony Hall and hosting exhibitions, banquets, weddings and meetings of all sizes
■ Warwick Conferences – Featuring large conference facilities, small meeting rooms and hotel-styled bed and breakfast
CAMPING, GLAMPING, HOLIDAY PARK OF THE YEAR
■ Etties Field – Boho glamping ground in Atherstone, named after owner’s grandma
■ Hencote – Destination English vineyard with national appeal
■ Hill Farm Glamping –
Featuring bell tents, a shepherd’s hut and tipi near Southam in Warwickshire
■ Hopleys Family Camping –
Situated outside Bewdley in Worcestershire in the heart of the Severn Valley with great onsite facilities
ETHICAL, RESPONSIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AWARD
■ The Hive – Cafe and bakery serving organic food in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter while celebrating industrial heritage
EXPERIENCE OF YEAR
■ Bobby Britnell – Textile artist, designer and teacher in Shropshire offering talks, courses and creative workshops
■ Jaguar Land Rover Experience Solihull – Featuring manufacturing tours and off road driving challenges for unforgettable days out
■ Positively Birmingham Walking Tours – city centre walks for local people and visitors alike
■ Royal Shakespeare Company – Making theatres and performances accessible to as many people as possible
LARGE HOTEL OF THE YEAR n Coombe Abbey – Featuring characterful and charming bed chambers and countryside views across Coventry and Warwickshire
■ Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa –A beautifully grand Lutyens style main house in Leamington Spa which prides itself in offering exceptional hospitality
■ Malmaison Birmingham – Boutique hotel offering first class facilities in a former Royal Mail building
SMALL HOTEL OF THE YEAR
■ Baraset Barn, Lovely Pubs – Stratford-upon-Avon hotel with 200-year history and 16 individually designed bedrooms
■ Brockencote Hall – Beautifully refurbished Victorian country manor house hotel set in 70 acres of parkland
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM
■ Go Cotswolds – Small-group guided day tours of the Cotswolds from Stratford-uponAvon and Moreton-in-Marsh
■ Shakespeare’s Birthplace – Walk in Shakespeare’s footsteps and explore the house where he was born and grew up
NEW TOURISM BUSINESS AWARD
■ Hotel Indigo, Stratfordupon-Avon – Boutique hotel offering contemporary
accommodation traditional twist with a
Walking n Positively Tours Birmingham – Offering private the canals and and public other tours historic around sites n Shakespeare in the city centre Distillery –
Artisan spirit producer established in 2015
SELF-CATERING ACCOMMODATION OF THE YEAR
■ Burlton Cottages – Three holiday cottages on a friendly, family-run 500-acre private farming estate in the heart of the North Shropshire
■ Ironbridge View Townhouse – Grade II listed townhouse set in the heart of historic Ironbridge
■ Penny Black Cottage – Former post office shop in the heart of Coalbrookdale, part of the Unesco World Heritage Site at Ironbridge Gorge
LARGE VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
■ Royal Shakespeare
Company – Performances of plays by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and today’s writers with backstage tours and education trips making theatre more accessible
■ Black Country Living Museum – An immersive experience telling the story of one of the very first
industrialised Britain and film landscapes location for in Peaky n National Blinders SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham – Featuring over 2,000 creatures including the UK’s only 360 degree Ocean Tunnel
SMALL VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
■ Aston Hall – Explore the splendour of one of the last great houses build in the Jacobean style
■ FarGo Village – Artistically regenerated industrial space which is home to Coventry’s creative quarter
■ Jaguar Land Rover Experience Solihull – Fantastic 4x4 off road trips and manufacturing tours
■ Shakespeare Schoolroom &
Guildhall – Where Shakespeare discovered theatre for the first time and was educated and inspired to become the world’s greatest playwright
PUB OF THE YEAR
■ The Coracle Micro pub – Telford’s first micro pub in the scenic Ironbridge Gorge
■ The Howard Arms – A 400-year-old Cotswolds pub, restaurant and B&B
■ The Millstone Hare – Olde style English pub built in 2016 in Southam, Warwickshire, on a 600-acre estate
TASTE OF ENGLAND AWARD
■ Esquires Coffee – Set in Coventry Transport Museum and serving fair trade drinks, hot and cold sandwiches and Coventry Godcakes
■ The Butchers Social – Henley-in-Arden venue serving dishes including salted caramel chicken wings
■ Turmeric Gold – Indian restaurant in Coventry using fresh ingredients from locally sourced farms and suppliers