Northumberland hotel and restaurant Battlesteads, near Wark, has been awarded one of the highest accolades in UK hospitality – the Sustainable Business Award at The Cateys 2019.

The Cateys, now in their 36^th year, recognise the most talented individuals, biggest brands and strongest performers in the hospitality industry. Chosen by a panel of highly-respected industry judges, the awards are the pinnacle of success in the hospitality industry.

Battlesteads received the coveted award for sustainability at a glittering awards ceremony on Tuesday 2 July, held at London's Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott hotel.

The hotel, restaurant and observatory has become famous for its eco-friendly initiatives, including achieving a carbon footprint six times lower than the industry average and championing local producers in Northumberland.

Battlesteads' sustainable tourism offering also includes a Dark Sky Observatory, with some of the clearest night skies in the country perfect for stargazing; five modern eco-lodges and a restaurant serving ingredients fresh from the hotel’s kitchen gardens and polytunnels. The hotel has previously been recognised for its sustainability by the Good Hotel Guide, the AA, and at the Visit England Awards for Excellence.

Owners of Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, Richard and Dee Slade, said: "The Cateys really are considered 'the Oscars of hospitality', so to win this award, going up against such strong competition from across the country, is an outstanding achievement for us. Our goal has always been to show that being sustainable doesn’t have to mean sacrificing guest experience, and this award gives us a platform to share our ethos and expertise with the wider industry, driving forward innovation and putting Northumberland on the map for eco-tourism."

Read the Cateys Statement

Award-winning Wark hotel and restaurant Battlesteads is getting ready to welcome beer lovers from across the North East, for the 9th annual Battlesteads Beer Festival.

The four-day celebration will take place from Thursday 25^th to Sunday 28^th July, combining live entertainment and great food with the very best of both British and international beers, lagers and ales.

As well as over 20 varieties of beers on offer, the popular gin bar and Prosecco tent will also be returning, offering refreshing summer tipples as an alternative to the ales.

Entertainment this year will include live music performances from some of the region’s best-loved bands, including Big Red and the Grinners, Mudskipper, Jason Arnup and Alive and Kicking.

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads, said: "The beer festival is without a doubt one of the highlights of the year for us and we love welcoming guests from across Northumberland and further afield for a fantastic weekend of entertainment. The atmosphere is always brilliant with hundreds of visitors over the four days, and of course we will once again be raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance which is an extremely worthy cause."

Admission to the beer festival is free on Thursday (6pm-11pm) and Sunday (12pm until the beer runs out). On Friday (6pm – 11pm) and Saturday (12pm – 11pm) tickets are £4, with all proceeds going to the Great North Air Ambulance. A free transport service from Hexham is also available on Friday and Saturday.

Northumberland hotel and restaurant Battlesteads, near Wark, has been shortlisted for what is widely considered the Oscars of the hospitality industry – the Cateys 2019.

Battlesteads has been shortlisted for the Sustainable Business Award and will be going up against the best of British hospitality at the awards ceremony, held on 2 July at London's Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott hotel.

The Cateys, now in their 36th year, recognise the most talented individuals, biggest brands and strongest performers in the hospitality industry. The shortlist was chosen by a panel of industry judges selected for their expertise and industry knowledge, making the Cateys the ultimate accolade in peer group recognition.

Owner of Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, Richard Slade, said: "The Cateys represent the best of the best in the hospitality industry, so I am absolutely thrilled that Battlesteads has been shortlisted this year. Over the past 10 years we have been striving to be the most sustainable hotel in the country, as well as championing tourism in Northumberland, and it feels fantastic to be recognised for this by the judges. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for the ceremony in July, and hoping we bring back the trophy!"

Battlesteads Hotel offers a sustainable tourism experience combining a warm Northumberland welcome, accommodation including five eco-lodges, a restaurant showcasing the best local produce and home-grown ingredients, and a Dark Sky Observatory where visitors can discover the magic of the night skies.

The hotel has previously been recognised for its sustainability by the Good Hotel Guide, the AA, and at the Visit England Awards for Excellence.

Battlesteads Hotel & Observatory in Northumberland has become the first place in the UK to install a light-measuring photometer camera, as part of a Europe-wide initiative to tackle light pollution.

The eco-friendly hotel has joined the EU-funded "Stars4All" initiative, which has created a network of several hundred devices monitoring the quality of the night sky across Europe.

Specially-designed cameras have been built by astronomers and calibrated in the LICA lab at the Complutense University of Madrid, which will measure how dark the night skies are, how clear or cloudy it is, and what the ambient temperature is. Stars4All will use the information gathered to support a campaign to introduce a new European Sky Protection legislation.

Located on the edge of Northumberland National Park, Battlesteads is the only hotel in the UK with an on-site observatory and has been awarded Designated Dark Sky Discovery Site status, meaning it’s one of the best places in the country to see the stars. Battlesteads is the only place in the UK with a calibrated photometer, leading the country’s research into light pollution.

Roy Alexander FRAS, head astronomer at Battlesteads, said: "This is a fantastic research programme for us to be involved in and will give us really useful data about the dark skies in and around Wark. Light pollution is an ever-growing problem, especially in rural communities. It not only adversely affects nature and wildlife, but more and more research is emerging which suggests that it can contribute towards health problems in humans, by affecting our natural sleep cycles. The darker the skies become, the healthier we will get and the better it will be for wildlife and stargazers."

Part of the Northumberland Dark Sky Park, the largest protected area of night sky in Europe, Battlesteads Observatory offers stargazing experiences for astronomers of all abilities, from getting to know your telescope to aurora hunting and astrophotography.

Real-time data from Battlesteads photometer can be seen at the stars4all portal.

Eco-friendly Northumberland hotel and restaurant Batlesteads has strengthened its international travel trade relations as it joins a new collection of National Park experiences.

Battlesteads has been successful in applying to be one of the exclusive experiences in The English National Park Experience Collection. This brand-new collection of bookable experiences tells the stories of England’s National Parks and their people, to attract new visitors from overseas.

Located on the edge of Northumberland National Park, Battlesteads is the only hotel in the UK with an on-site observatory, which has been awarded Designated Dark Sky Discovery Site status, meaning it’s one of the best places in the country to see the stars.

Part of the Northumberland Dark Sky Park, the largest protected area of night sky in Europe, Battlesteads Observatory offers stargazing experiences for astronomers of all abilities, from getting to know your telescope to aurora hunting and astrophotography.

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads, said: "We're delighted to be joining The English National Park Experience Collection, which brings together more than 60 of the best experiences across nine of England’s National Parks. This new initiative will help us reach a much wider overseas audience and help to support Northumberland’s thriving year-round tourism industry."

Eco-friendly Northumberland hotel and restaurant Batlesteads is offering an evening of Burns Night celebrations in the most traditional Scottish style.

On Saturday 26 January, the Wark hotel will host a traditional four-course dinner, with an original 19th century menu by Scottish chef Meg Dodds that was prepared for the first ever Edinburgh Burns Club meeting in the early 1800s.

Known as 'the Scottish Mrs Beeton', Meg Dodds was the 19th century version of a celebrity chef, acclaimed for her Cooks and Housewives Manual of 1826.

Dinner will begin with King James' recipe for 'het kail cock-a-leekie soup', followed by the Scottish staple of rarebit haggis, served with 'neep purry' – a puree of swede, carrot and ginger.

The main course will be a het joint striploin with whole caramelised roast onion and rumbledethumps, a traditional side dish of crushed potatoes with onion, cabbage and leeks. For dessert, guests will enjoy 'ither – orra eattocks cranachan', a classic Scottish dish of raspberries with toasted oatmeal, honey and whisky cream.  

Traditional entertainment for the evening will come courtesy of Burns Night toasts and speeches, and a Northumbrian piper.

The Wark/Hexham area of Northumberland is closely associated with Burns Night – it was part of Scotland up until 1296, and Robbie Burns himself visited Hexham on his tour of the Borders in May 1787.

Battlesteads' Burns Night Dinner costs £30 per person, and starts at 7pm.