Award-winning Northumberland eco hotel, Battlesteads, is offering guests and local visitors the chance to try their hand at something new, with a packed calendar of experience days over the coming months.

From floristry workshops to polytunnel growing for beginners, the experiences available at the Wark hotel in March and April will appeal to green-fingered guests as well as anyone looking to experience something new.

Celebrating Mother’s Day on Saturday 25 March, Kate Norris from Northumbrian Flowers (and Battlesteads’ head gardener) will be inviting guests to learn how to create and wrap a beautiful bouquet of flowers, including British-grown flowers and foliage, at a short floristry workshop.

The workshop, which starts at 12pm, will include a glass of fizz and canapés on arrival and will be followed by a sumptuous afternoon tea, with Kate on hand to answer any further questions about flower arranging. Tickets are £55 per person.

For keen gardeners and those more interested in growing produce they can use in the kitchen, the Polytunnel Growing for Beginners experience day on Saturday 1 April will provide the perfect introduction to growing your own vegetables, herbs and salads.

Running from 9am – 4.30pm, the full-day event will also be presented by Kate Norris, who first started Battlesteads’ polytunnel growing systems back in 2007. Kate will cover the best design for polytunnels, which herbs, salads and vegetables will grow best, crop rotation and soil care, water management, maintenance and care and seasonal variations, with a practical session sowing seeds to take away.

Polytunnel Growing for Beginners will also include a tour of the Battlesteads grounds, materials for seed sowing, refreshments and a delicious three-course lunch with garden produce, all for £80 per person.

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads Hotel said: “We know that guests visiting Battlesteads love having the opportunity to get stuck in to hands-on activities, and love learning new skills, which is why throughout 2017 we are organising regular experience days covering a huge range of topics and skills. Our head gardener Kate has fantastic expertise in gardening and floristry and can’t wait to help locals and visitors from further afield to try something new.”

Other workshops coming up at Battlesteads include a photography composition masterclass on Saturday 18 March and hot and cold smoking courses every Friday.

After a record-breaking year of local and national awards success, Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant is celebrating once again after being named Sustainable Hotel of the Year at the Hotel Cateys. 

The prestigious hotel industry award was presented to Battlesteads on Friday 25 November at a ceremony attended by more than 750 leading industry figures held at London’s Park Plaza Westminster Bridge.

The Hotel Catey award is the 11^th award to be won by Battlesteads in 2016, making it their most successful year to date. 

Known as one of the UK’s top sustainable tourism destinations, Battlesteads has won several awards for its sustainability and eco-friendliness including 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 also won the 2016 Good Hotel Guide Cesar Award for Best Value, was named the Best Pub in the North East at the National Pub & Bar Awards and won five trophies at the North East Tourism Awards: three Gold Awards for Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Pub and the Taste Award; Bronze Award for Hotel of the Year and Highly Commended Award for Dog Friendly Business. 

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, said: “I am delighted that Battlesteads has been named Sustainable Hotel of the Year at this year’s Hotel Cateys; it’s the perfect end to an award-winning year. I would like to thank all the team at the hotel for their hard work which has contributed to our success and I look forward to seeing what 2017 has to hold for Battlesteads.” 

We are now celebrating after winning a record three Gold awards at the 2016 North East Tourism Awards.

We achieved the Gold Awards for Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Pub and the Taste Award, as well as winning a Bronze in the Hotel of the Year category and a Highly Commended Award for Dog Friendly Business. 

This is the first time in the history of the awards that a business has won three Gold Awards in the same year. 

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, said: “We are absolutely over the moon to have won not just one but three North East Tourism Gold Awards. To also receive Bronze and Highly Commended awards in two further categories is a huge achievement for us and is fantastic recognition for the hard work of all the team. We’re now looking forward to representing the North East at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in 2017”.

Organised and delivered by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative in partnership with the Northern Tourism Alliance, the North East England Tourism Awards showcase the high quality tourism businesses and experiences on offer to visitors to the region. The winner of each category is automatically entered into the annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, which will take place in April 2017.

Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive at destination management and marketing organisation NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said “A huge congratulations to Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant for winning three golds at this year’s North East England Tourism Awards. As always the businesses shortlisted were of an extremely high standard so to not only win one gold award but three is a great achievement. The North East of England has a fantastic tourism offer, and Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant are one of many businesses playing a key role in welcoming visitors to the region.”

More information about the awards can be found at www.NorthEastTourismAwards.com. 

We are delighted to have been shortlisted in a fantastic five categories of this year’s North East England Tourism Awards.

Our hotel, restaurant and observatory is a finalist in more categories than any other business, being up for Hotel of the Year, Tourism Pub, Sustainable Tourism, Dog Friendly Business and the Taste Award.

The North East England Tourism Awards showcase the range of high quality tourism businesses and experiences on offer to visitors to the region. Winners of the awards, to be announced on 22 November, will go forward to represent the North East at the annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in 2017.

Katie, General Manager, said: “On behalf of all the team at Battlesteads, we are delighted to have been shortlisted in five categories for this year’s North East England Tourism Awards. The North East is home to so many fantastic tourism and hospitality businesses and so it is an honour to be recognised by the leading tourism awards in the region. We are looking forward to celebrating with all of the other shortlisted businesses at the awards ceremony.”

The North East England Tourism Awards are organised and delivered by NewcastleGateshead Initiative in partnership with the Northern Tourism Alliance.

Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive at destination management and marketing organisation NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said “It’s fantastic to have another record breaking year for entries and I’m delighted to see so many new businesses enter the awards.

“The tourism sector continues to thrive as the quality and variety of tourism businesses in the North East of England maintain such a high standard. I’m always impressed to see the outstanding work the finalists have delivered and I look forward to celebrating their achievements with them at the awards ceremony in November.”

More information about the awards can be found at www.NorthEastTourismAwards.com.

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has been named Eco Hotel of the Year at the prestigious AA Hospitality Awards.

The 22-bedroom hotel and restaurant was awarded the accolade for its ongoing commitment to sustainability, positive contributions made to reducing its environmental impact and for its dedication to raising industry standards.

Battlesteads’ owners Richard and Dee Slade and general manager Katie Meyrick attended the awards ceremony held at the Grosvenor House hotel in London on Monday, 26 September, where the trophy was presented to them by actor and comedian Hugh Dennis.

In the 11 years since Richard and Dee took over the hotel, they have worked hard to establish Battlesteads as one of the UK’s leading tourism destinations. This has included reducing the hotel’s carbon footprint to less than a fifth of the industry average, expanding sustainably with five new eco lodges and becoming the only hotel in the UK with an onsite observatory.

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been named Eco Hotel of the Year by the AA Hospitality Awards – one of the most well-respected awards in the industry. We really do pride ourselves on our sustainability and commitment to our ‘green’ principles so it’s fantastic to be recognised by that. Hopefully we can provide inspiration to other hotels looking to increase their own environmental policies and practices and help made the tourism industry greener as whole.”

Battlesteads has previously been recognised for its sustainability with other industry awards, including the Considerate Hoteliers Special Commendation Award 2015, a Platinum level rating in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme in 2014, Hotel Cateys Green Hotel of the Year 2011 and a Gold Star Award at the 2011 Green Tourism Awards. The hotel and restaurant also has Three Star Sustainability Champion status, awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has cemented its status as one of the most sustainable hotels in the country by massively reducing its carbon footprint.

Well-known for its ‘green’ credentials, Battlesteads’ carbon footprint report reveals the hotel and restaurant’s emissions have decreased by 77.5% since 2012 to just 5.23kg CO2 per room per night in 2015. Despite the hotel’s increased occupancy following the addition of five new eco-lodges in 2015, Battlesteads is continuing to set the standard for sustainable hotels across the country.

Whilst the hotel’s carbon footprint is already considerably lower than the industry average of 31.1kg CO2 per room per night, Battlesteads isn’t stopping there and owners Richard and Dee Slade’s key objective for this year is to reduce their carbon footprint even further, with the aim to achieve less than 4.5kg CO2 per room per night by the end of the year.
One of the biggest influencing factors in the reduction of Battlesteads’ carbon footprint has been the switch to green energy provider ‘Ecotricity’ in January 2014. In addition to producing green energy, Battlesteads generate solar energy on site, 50% of which is used by Battlesteads and 50% which is sold to Ecotricity.

Battlesteads has been recognised for its commitment to environmental practices with multiple awards and has recently been shortlisted for Eco Hotel of the Year at the AA Hospitality Awards.

The shortlist recognises Battlesteads’ clear commitment to sustainability, demonstrated through good practice and policy to make a positive contribution to reducing its impact on the environment.

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for Eco Hotel of the Year. Sustainability is something we pride ourselves on and the award really reflects our commitment to environmental practices. Since extending the hotel to offer more accommodation it was always going to be tough to keep up with our commitments to the environment so it’s great to see we’ve been able to sustain our eco principles and reduce our carbon footprint so greatly”.

Other awards given to Battlesteads for its sustainability include the Considerate Hoteliers Special Commendation Award 2015, a Platinum level rating in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme in 2014, Hotel Cateys Green Hotel of the Year 2011 and a Gold Star Award at the 2011 Green Tourism Awards. The hotel and restaurant also has Three Star Sustainability Champion status, awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).