Northumberland businesses in final of VisitEngland Awards for Excellence

Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours, Kidlandlee Holiday Cottages, New Adventures and Langley Castle Hotel are among 48 finalists in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

They were recently successful in the North East England Tourism Awards and were put forward for the national awards.

Seahouses-based Serenity’s grey seal and seabird cruise is up for the Experience of the Year award, while Harbottle-based Kidlandlees is in the running for Self-Catering Holiday Accommodation of the Year.

Langley Castle Hotel, near Haydon Bridge, is a finalist in the Resilience and Innovation Award.

Margaret Livingstone-Evans, executive general manager at Langley Castle, said: “Being a national finalist in the English tourism industry’s top awards is just a fantastic achievement for a hotel of our size and is testimony to all the hard work that has gone into our product development and creative ideas.

“We have to fight hard to get into the spotlight, given our size and rural location, so we are delighted the judges have recognised the tremendous effort of the entire team.

"We do not know which of the three possible awards we have won in our category, but whether it is gold, silver or bronze, it will help demonstrate the Northumberland tourism sector’s commitment to excellence and innovation.”

New Adventures, which operates in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland, is a finalist in the TXGB Trailblazer Award.

VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “This impressive list of finalists demonstrates the innovation and excellence thriving across England’s tourism industry. The quality and number of applications also highlights the outstanding range of products and experiences on offer for both domestic and international visitors. We wish the finalists the very best of luck.”

All finalists are invited to attend the national awards ceremony, this year being held at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter on June 7.