Golden night for stars of Yorkshire tourism

Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists Nicola Adams, Andy Triggs-Hodge and Hannah Cockroft were VIP guests at last night’s glittering ceremony, which saw 15 businesses from across the county recognised for their excellence.

A total of 89 visitor attractions, pubs, restaurants and holiday accommodation providers were shortlisted for the awards, which are run by the tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire and are the biggest of their kind in the UK.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal near Ripon was named as the region’s best large attraction while the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby scooped the prize for the best small attraction. Wakefield’s Hepworth Gallery won the award for arts and culture and the gong for outstanding customer service went to the team at the York Maze.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s chief executive, Gary Verity, said: “This was another exciting night in the history of Yorkshire tourism. Every winner should be congratulated and these awards give us all the chance to celebrate the creativity, hard work and success of so many tourism businesses. Having seen the standard of businesses shortlisted, it seems clear to us that Yorkshire leads where others follow. During the last three years we have seen Yorkshire not only compete on the world stage, but be at the centre of it. And it’s incredible businesses like these which make that possible – that’s why the White Rose Awards plays such a vital role in recognising and celebrating their work.”

About 1,000 guests attended the ceremony at Elland Road, Leeds, including Emmerdale stars and singer-songwriter Alistair Griffin.

The awards in full...

• Small Hotel – The Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel & Spa. (The Cliffemount Hotel, Runswick Bay – Highly Commended)

• Bed & Breakfast – The Wold Cottage, Driffield

• Large Visitor Attraction – Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

• Small Visitor Attraction – Captain Cook Memorial Museum

• Restaurant – Samuel’s at Swinton Park. (Salvo’s, Leeds – Highly Commended)

• Large Hotel – Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa, York

• Taste of Yorkshire – Drewton’s South Cave, East Yorkshire. (The Cooking School at Dean Clough, Halifax – Highly Commended)

• Pub – The Star at Harome. (The Star@Sancton, Market Weighton – Highly Commended)

• Self-Catering – High Barn Cottages, Bridlington

• Caravan & Camping – Jollydays Luxury Camping

• Outstanding Customer Service – The York Maze Team. (Shirley Fletcher, Hilton York and Les Clarke, Pickering & Malton TICs – Highly Commended)

• Arts & Culture – The Hepworth Wakefield. (Northern Ballet – Highly Commended)

• Tourism Event – Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial, York

• Business Tourism – York Marriott. (The Spa Bridlington – Highly Commended)

• Visitor Information – Wakefield Tourist Information Centre. (The Moors National Park Centre, Danby TIC – Highly Commended)