Cow cuddling in East Yorkshire, a world class ceramics attraction in Staffordshire and a Hampshire hotel are all celebrating after scooping top accolades in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2025.
England’s national tourism body revealed the winners of its prestigious awards, highlighting the very best of the nation’s tourism industry, at a presentation ceremony on 4 June.
Gold, Silver and Bronze winners were announced across 17 categories in the awards which have been running for more than 30 years.
Picking up the title of England’s Experience of the Year was Dumble Farm in East Yorkshire.
The Farm, three miles north of Beverley, is a cow lover’s delight where visitors can get up close and personal with its herd of Highland cattle, which were introduced on to the 200-acre estate as part of a major conservation project.
Dubbed as the ‘home of the UK’s ultimate cow experiences’, it runs farmer led, adult only cow events, including cow cuddling, Highland cow experiences and safaris (https://dumblefarm.com/).
Another Gold award went to Staffordshire’s Keele University Events and Conferencing, which was judged as Business Events Venue of the Year.
Catering for everything from small team meetings to events for 600 delegates, the venue also includes Grade II listed Keele Hall, a stately mansion set in grounds with views across the 604 acres of the university campus (https://keele-conference.com/).
Winning Silver in the International Tourism Award was World of Wedgwood at Stoke-on Trent in Staffordshire.
Home to Stoke-on-Trent’s most prestigious brand, Wedgwood, and the galleries of the V&A Wedgwood Collection, the site houses hands-on Creative Studios, Wedgwood Factory, Wedgwood Tea Room, and a range of retail outlets, bars and cafes (www.worldofwedgwood.com).
And the Bronze award for Small Hotel of the Year was Hampshire’s The Montagu Arms Hotel. Nestled on the southeastern edge of the New Forest in the picturesque village of Beaulieu, the 17th century country house retreat offers 33 rooms and suites, as well as a top rated restaurant (https://montaguarmshotel.co.uk).
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.
In addition to the 16 core category award winners, three special awards were also presented this year including a ‘Tourism Superstar Award’, which went to port volunteers the Southampton Saints, a team of 13 welcome ambassadors who greet visitors at the Hampshire city’s port.
Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, generating about £76 billion annually for the economy in domestic visitor spending.
For more information visit www.visitbritain.org/business-advice/visitengland-awards-excellence