One of the highlights of the year for beer lovers across the North East, the Battlesteads Beer Festival, is set to return for the 7th year later this month.

The four-day celebration at the award-winning hotel and restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, will run from Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 July and will feature more than 20 beers, ciders and foreign lagers to try.

Hosted by Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, the festival has been growing year on year, attracting hundreds of attendees looking to try a wide selection of beers from across the world from straw-coloured pale ales and ruby-red beers to fruity ciders and characterful bitters that pack a punch.

Entertainment will be provided with live music from The Stax Brothers, The Mudskippers, Alive and Kicking and The Happycats, while last year's popular gin bar will be returning alongside a brand-new Prosecco bar.

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads, said: "Over the past six years our beer festival has gone from strength to strength, attracting more people every year. The introduction of our speciality gin bar last year proved popular with guests wanting to try something different, so this year we've added another exciting option with the new Prosecco bar set to bring some added sparkle to the weekend. The Battlesteads Beer Festival is a real community event that brings everyone together, and we can’t wait to welcome even more guests this year."

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

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has been named winner of the Tourism and Hospitality Award at the second annual North East Rural Awards, held at Linden Hall on Thursday 29 June.

The win comes hot on the heels of the eco hotel scooping the awards for Best Hotel and Overall Winner at the Northumberland Tourism Awards on 22 June.

Organised by the Newcastle Journal and Newcastle Chronicle, the North East Rural Awards are the only awards dedicated to championing the rural communities in the region.

Darren Thwaites, Trinity Mirror North East editor-in-chief, opened the awards by saying: "Rural life is such an important part of North East culture - and it’s also a hugely important part of our economy. With the general uncertainty around Brexit and the political environment in general, it's never been more important to champion rural issues and shout about our achievements."

Battlesteads is one of the country's leading sustainable tourism businesses, and having been recently recognised on a national stage winning Gold at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, the hotel and restaurant is championing Northumberland as a year-round tourism destination.

The hotel features 22 en-suite bedrooms including five eco-lodges, recently refurbished restaurant and bar, extensive kitchen gardens and polytunnels and is the only hotel in the UK with its own on-site observatory.

Owner of Battlesteads Hotel, Richard Slade, said: "At Battlesteads we love our local area and we play an important role at the heart of our local community, offering special lunches for pensioners and providing low-cost school meals for local children, as well as being a welcoming place for locals to pop in for a drink or something to eat. It’s fantastic for us to be recognised for this at the North East’s only awards for the rural communities and we look forward to continuing to represent tourism in the North East on a national scale."

Previous awards won by Battlesteads include the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence Sustainable Business Gold, the Hotel Catey Award for Best Sustainable Hotel, the AA Hospitality Award for Eco Hotel of the Year, the People.Energy.Action award for eco-friendly travel business and the Good Hotel Guide Editor’s Choice Award for Best Green Hotel.

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, is celebrating after being named Best Hotel in Northumberland and being awarded the title of Overall Winner at the Northumberland Tourism Awards 2017.

Described by the judges of the awards as "truly a jewel in Northumberland's tourism crown", Battlesteads has built a name for itself as one of the top sustainable tourism destinations in the country.

The hotel features 22 en-suite bedrooms including five eco-lodges, recently refurbished restaurant and bar, extensive kitchen gardens and polytunnels and is the only hotel in the UK with its own on-site observatory.

The judges of the inaugural Northumberland Tourism Awards, which aim to celebrate the accommodation providers, attractions and other tourism businesses that make Northumberland's booming visitor industry a success, also said of Battlesteads: "The attention to detail is amazing, from its sustainability policy and catering for disabilities to the incredible range of local produce on their menu."

Owner of Battlesteads Hotel, Richard Slade, collected the award at a ceremony held at Alnwick Castle on Thursday 22 June.

Speaking after the ceremony, Richard Slade said: "I am delighted that Battlesteads has been named not only the Best Hotel, but also the Overall Winner at the first Northumberland Tourism Awards. It’s extremely important to us at Battlesteads to celebrate and champion our home county, from supporting small local producers to representing Northumberland on a national stage within the hotel and hospitality industry."

Paul Larkin, editor of the Northumberland Gazette, which co-organised the awards, said: "The entry from Battlesteads Hotel was very strong and focused. It was a model that others should follow. The hotel has already performed extremely well at regional and national competition and proudly flies the flag for Northumberland. I'm sure guests to the hotel benefit from the considerable effort put in to looking after visitors to this wonderful county of ours.

"In a competitive category, where standards are naturally high, Battlesteads achieved Gold status and took Hotel of the Year crown. It also justly won the Overall Tourism Business of the Year award for 2017. Keep up the good work!"

Previous awards won by Battlesteads include the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence Sustainable Business Gold, the Hotel Catey Award for Best Sustainable Hotel, the AA Hospitality Award for Eco Hotel of the Year, the People.Energy.Action award for eco-friendly travel business and the Good Hotel Guide Editor’s Choice Award for Best Green Hotel.

One of the highlights of the year for beer lovers across the North East, the Battlesteads Beer Festival, is set to return for the 7th year in July 2017.

The four-day celebration in Wark, Northumberland, will run from Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 July and will feature more than 20 beers, ciders and foreign lagers to try.

Hosted by Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, the festival has been growing year on year, attracting hundreds of attendees looking to try a wide selection of beers from across the world from straw-coloured pale ales and ruby-red beers to fruity ciders and characterful bitters that pack a punch.

Entertainment will be provided with live music from The Stax Brothers, The Mudskippers, Alive and Kicking and The Happycats, while last year’s popular gin bar will be returning alongside a brand-new Prosecco bar.

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads, said: "Over the past six years our beer festival has gone from strength to strength, attracting more people every year. The introduction of our speciality gin bar last year proved popular with guests wanting to try something different, so this year we’ve added another exciting option with the new Prosecco bar set to bring some added sparkle to the weekend. The Battlesteads Beer Festival is a real community event that brings everyone together, and we can’t wait to welcome even more guests this year."

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

Multi award-winning hotel and restaurant Battlesteads, in Wark, has scooped another prestigious accolade at the National CSR Awards 2017.

The Northumberland hotel was named ‘Clean and Green’ winner at the awards ceremony on Thursday 18 May, held at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

This latest award adds to a long list of honours received by Battlesteads for its industry-leading sustainability and green initiatives, including being named Sustainable Tourism Business category at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2017 last month.

Speaking after the ceremony, general manager of Battlesteads Katie Meyrick-Scott said: "We are delighted to win another fantastic award that celebrates our commitment to sustainability and the hard work the whole team here puts into running a successful business. Hopefully seeing what we have achieved will inspire more hotels and tourism businesses to improve their sustainability and introduce more eco-friendly initiatives."

Karen Sutton, CEO and founder of the awards said: "The standard of entries this year has been incredible and some categories were particularly hard fought. Every year just gets better and better. It’s a privilege and a pleasure to reward such fantastic achievements."

Other awards Battlesteads has won for its commitment to sustainability include the Hotel Catey Award for Best Sustainable Hotel, the AA Hospitality Award for Eco Hotel of the Year, the People.Energy.Action award for eco-friendly travel business and the Good Hotel Guide Editor’s Choice Award for Best Green Hotel.

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has been named the Gold award winner in the Sustainable Tourism Business category at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2017.

One of the UK’s leading eco hotels, Battlesteads’ sustainable credentials have seen them go from winning the North East England Sustainable Tourism Award in November 2016, through to being shortlisted by the national judges to compete against the Blencathra Centre in Keswick and the National Marine Aquarium in Devon, to win the coveted Gold accolade.

Owners of Battlesteads Hotel, Richard and Dee Slade, collected the award at a ceremony held in London on Monday 24 April.

Speaking after the ceremony, Richard Slade said: “We have won almost every leading hotel industry award for sustainability, as well as several North East Tourism awards, but to win the national Visit England Award for Excellence really is the icing on the cake. We are extremely proud of everything we have achieved and we hope to inspire more hotels and tourism businesses to improve their sustainability and introduce more eco-friendly initiatives.”

In 2016 Battlesteads won numerous industry awards for its commitment to sustainability, including the Hotel Catey Award for Best Sustainable Hotel, the AA Hospitality Award for Eco Hotel of the Year, the People.Energy.Action award for eco-friendly travel business and the Good Hotel Guide Editor’s Choice Award for Best Green Hotel.

VisitEngland chief executive Sally Balcombe added: “This year’s awards were fiercely contested and we had some terrific applications, showcasing not only the excellence on offer within English tourism but also the outstanding innovation and the sheer diversity of experiences throughout the country. From afternoon tea in a railway carriage to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ boutique hotel rooms, from great family friendly animal attractions to cottages for one, all well deserved the recognition of their quality and service.”

More information about the awards can be found at www.visitenglandawards.org