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.

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

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, is one of the three finalists to be shortlisted for the Sustainable Tourism Award at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2017.

Battlesteads was named the winner of the three categories at the North East England Tourism Awards in November 2016 – Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Pub and Taste – and was subsequently put forward along with the winners from all of the other UK regions to the VisitEngland judging panel.

The eco hotel’s outstanding green credentials shone through, and it will now go up against the Blencathra Centre in Keswick and the National Marine Aquarium in Devon at the final of the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, with the winner announced at a ceremony on 24 April.

Katie Meyrick-Scott, general manager of Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, said: “Winning three golds at the North East Tourism Awards was a fantastic achievement, but to reach the final three of the national awards in the sustainability category is amazing news. Over the past 10 years we’ve worked hard to create a sustainable tourism experience that provides inspiration to both our guests and the rest of the hospitality industry, and it’s fantastic to see that rewarded with the recognition from VisitEngland.”

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.

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.