Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, near Hexham, has been named the Best Pub in the North East at the National Pub & Bar Awards.

The accolade was presented to Battlesteads at an awards ceremony on Tuesday 24 May, held at London’s BAFTA theatre. The sustainable hotel and restaurant was previously chosen as the county winner for Northumberland by a judging panel from leading industry magazine Pub & Bar, before being voted as the best in the region.

Entrants to the awards were judged on all aspects of pub hospitality, from perfect service and product range to aesthetic design and entertainment. Battlesteads was chosen for its friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable staff, wide range of local and national cask ales, well-travelled list of sustainable and biodynamic wines and fantastic food featuring home-grown ingredients and locally sourced produce.

Battlesteads beat tough competition from across Northumberland, Durham and Tyne and Wear to walk away with the title of Best Pub in the North East. The award was presented by one of the UK’s leading food and restaurant critics and journalist for The Observer, Jay Rayner.

Speaking after the awards ceremony, owner of Battlesteads Richard Slade said: “When we found out we had been chosen as the county winner for Northumberland, we were absolutely delighted. To then go on to be named the best pub in whole of the North East is a great honour and the whole team is celebrating this fantastic achievement. We are proud to be flying the flag for all of the other brilliant pubs in the North East and we’d like to thank the judges for choosing us as the winner.”

Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine said: “This is a brilliant achievement for Battlesteads, and for all our county and regional winner – they can now celebrate the fact that they are the best in their area. It was an absolute pleasure to reward and acknowledge these incredible businesses at what was none other than a celebration of standout hospitality and business practice. This selection of pubs and bars shows just what a fantastic industry the UK on-trade is.”

Thursday 21st July to Sunday 24th July
Over 20 beers, ciders and foreign lagers to try

NEW FOR 2016 GIN BAR
Selection of 8 fabulous gins

Bands include:
Friday 22nd The Stax Brothers
Saturday 23rd (afternoon) The Mudskippers
Saturday 23rd (evening) Alive and Kicking

Admission
Thursday evening 6pm until 11pm FREE
Friday and Saturday 12noon until 11pm £4
CAMRA members £3
Sunday afternoon 12 noon until the beer runs out FREE

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, Northumberland, has officially opened its on-site observatory, with local MP Guy Opperman doing the honours of cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony.

Sitting at the edge of the Northumberland National Park, the observatory has been awarded Dark Sky Discovery Site status. This means that it is one of the best sites in England for stargazing away from light pollution and offers the opportunity to see the Milky Way with the naked eye under the guided eye of professional astronomer and teacher, Roy Alexander.

Battlesteads is the only hotel in the UK to have an observatory within its grounds, fully accessible to guests staying in the hotel’s five eco-lodges which were completed earlier this year.

Facing south, it can accommodate up to 25 budding or seasoned astronomers and is equipped with the latest telescopes chosen for their technical prowess and ease of use. These include a Celestron C11 OTA on an EQ8 mount, an enormous set of 25 x 100 mounted binoculars specifically for guests with wheelchairs, plus a range of smaller telescopes targeted at true beginners.

The observatory runs courses targeted at all levels of stargazer, from introductory ‘Get to know your telescope’ sessions to sessions focusing on identifying and tracking some of the night-sky’s star performers.

Commenting on the Dark Sky Observatory, Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads, said: “We are delighted to have the observatory up and running and be able to offer our guests the chance to discover our beautiful skies here in Northumberland’s Dark Sky Park. Astro-tourism is an emerging and growing leisure market. With such a world-class environment for studying the stars on our doorstep it made sense to embrace this and add to the many reasons to visit Battlesteads and the county of Northumberland.”
The official opening of the observatory comes as Richard and his wife Dee celebrate their 10-year anniversary of owning Battlesteads.

The couple took on the hotel, pub and restaurant in October 2005, and in the years since have turned it into one of the UK’s top sustainable tourism destinations with numerous awards under their belts.

A need to improve energy consumption resulted in business-wide sustainable practices that have led to Battlesteads winning prestigious awards such as the Considerate Hoteliers ‘Good Egg Award’, Green Hotel of the Year at the Hotel Cateys, a Gold Star Award at the Green Tourism Awards and a Platinum level rating in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme. The hotel and restaurant also has Three Star Sustainability Champion status, awarded by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).

Richard and Dee have become ambassadors for sustainable tourism and are often invited to speak to audiences across the country about their journey and the lessons they’ve learned.

Courses at the Battlesteads observatory are priced starting at £15 per person and the eco-lodges are priced at £165 per night for bed and breakfast based on two people sharing.

Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, near Hexham, has been awarded a 2015 TripAdvisor Service Excellence Award for consistently high visitor reviews.

The award, announced on Friday 14 August, puts the Northumberland hotel among the top 10 per cent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor.

Only outstanding hospitality businesses which maintain an overall rating of four or higher, from a high volume of traveller reviews, are eligible for the Service Excellence Award.

This award follows Battlesteads achieving a Platinum level rating in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders Programme in 2014, for reaching the highest standard of environmental friendliness and sustainability.

Recent reviews of Battlesteads on TripAdvisor have included comments such as “I am so pleased we chose Battlesteads Hotel, it was lovely. I wish we could have stayed longer, and definitely would return when we get the chance”; “Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant was an absolute delight” and “I thoroughly recommend a stay at Battlesteads. Excellent value, great food, comfortable rooms, lovely welcoming staff and in a pretty village surrounded by stunning countryside.”

High praise has also been given for Battlesteads Restaurant, with one reviewer saying “the standard of food is excellent, and portrays the professionalism of the chef in the kitchen” and another adding that “dinner in the restaurant was delicious, and good value for money, the choice at breakfast was also very good and the full Northumbrian breakfast was very tasty indeed”.

Richard Slade, owner of Battlesteads said: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive the TripAdvisor Service Excellence Award and to be rated one of the top hotels in the area. We strive to provide a fantastic experience for everyone who stays in our hotel and eco lodges or eats in our restaurant, and we love receiving such positive feedback through TripAdvisor reviews. TripAdvisor is incredibly influential among travellers and receiving this award will help assure guests booking a stay here that they are making the right choice.”

Adding another green feather to its bow Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant in Wark, near Hexham is delighted to have achieved a Platinum level rating in Tripadvisors new GreenLeader programme.

Developed in partnership with the Carbon Trust, the UK Green Building Council, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the International Tourism Partnership, GreenLeader was launched in the UK and European markets at the beginning of March 2014. The programme helps travellers make greener choices by promoting hotels that have adopted environmentally sustainable practices via their Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum accreditation.

The green practices assessed include:

• Having linen and towel re-use plans
• Tracking energy usage on a regular basis
• Recycling
• Using energy efficient light-bulbs
• Educating staff and guests on green practices

Battlesteads achieved the maximum accreditation from the scheme, with the Platinum award adding to their established green and sustainable hall of fame.

Previous green merits include; Three Star Sustainability Champion status from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), Considerate Hotel of the Year 2011 from the Considerate Hoteliers and Green Hotel of the Year in the 2011 Hotel Cateys.

Commenting on the new programme and Battlesteads Platinum status, owner Richard Slade says:

"At Battlesteads we constantly look at ways we can extend our environmentally friendly code of ethics and be at the forefront of sustainable tourism. We see more and more visitors looking for hotels with strong environmental credentials, and initiatives such as this help the masses make informed decisions when it comes to choosing where to stay. Over the past years we have introduced a number of energy saving and environmental initiatives to the running of the hotel and pub, and continue to view ourselves as pioneers in sustainable tourism."

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