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.

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.