Nine small visitor attractions have been voted the best in England and will go through to the Excellence in England Tourism Awards 2004, in association with Enjoy England*. The winner of the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category (under 100,000 visitors) will be announced at the national awards ceremony at Kensington Palace in London on 22 April 2004, on the eve of St George’s Day.
The finalists have all come through rigorous awards run by England’s nine regional tourist boards, where they battled it out against hundreds of other entries for a chance to win the Excellence in England Tourism Award accolade for Small Visitor Attraction of the Year.
The winner will have shown commitment to providing a quality experience with a high level of customer care with innovative presentation of information. They will also have invested in staff training and development and made provision for disabled guests in line with the new Disability Discrimination Act* coming fully into force in October 2004.
The Small Visitor Attraction of the Year national finalists are:
The Wordsworth Trust – Cumbria Tourist Board www.wordsworth.org.uk
The Wordsworth Trust is a living memorial to the life and poetry of English poet William Wordsworth and his contemporaries. Its focus is Dove Cottage and the hamlet of Town End, Grasmere, at the centre of the Lake District. This is where the poet lived, wrote and found inspiration. The Trust offers a range of facilities including the museum, contemporary arts programme and poetry events, as well as Dove Cottage. The new Jerwood Centre at The Wordsworth Trust opens later this year and will provide space to store the Trust's unique collection of manuscripts, books and fine art. It will have a new interpretation room and frees space in the museum, enabling the Trust to put on more national level exhibitions for the Lake District
RHS Garden Hyde Hall – East of England Tourist Board www.rhs.org.uk
RHS Garden Hyde Hall is a garden of outstanding quintessential beauty that continues to grow and develop, with countryside views so rarely associated with Essex. Visitors are inspired by the 28 acres of pure excellence in gardening with a variety of new, exciting features and plantings carried out each year as the garden moves outward into the surrounding farmland. Throughout the year a comprehensive range of courses, demonstrations and events are organised to inspire and delight both adults and children. Working with local producers, events such as the popular Apple Festival, see record numbers of visitors enjoying the beauty of the garden.
Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection – Visit Heart of England www.cotswold-motor-museum.com
The Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection houses a variety of classic cars, motorcycles, caravans and motoring memorabilia. The toy collection section includes teddy bears, aeroplanes and a rare collection of pedal cars. Its most famous inhabitant though, is ‘Brum’ – the little yellow toy car from the BBC children’s hit TV series. The museum is Brum’s home and it’s also where the TV series was filmed. Visitors to the museum are well looked after and there is a real attention to detail in the presentation of the collection.
Apsley House – Visit London www.apsleyhouse.org.uk
Apsley House is the London home of the first Duke of Wellington. The small team of staff who run the museum have set up an imaginative education and visitor programme which reaches both Londoners and international visitors of all ages and interests
HMS Trincomalee – Northumbria Tourist Board www.hms-trincomalee.co.uk
HMS Trincomalee, built in 1817, is the oldest ship afloat in the UK and the only surviving example of a commissioned frigate of the Nelson era. The Ship is open throughout the year for tours at Hartlepool Historic Quay. The vessel has been skilfully restored and visitors can now experience life on board nearly two centuries ago. Two platform lifts have been installed that assist visitors to explore the three main decks. HMS Trincomalee is often used for filming historical scenes and re-enactments, and is also a popular venue for weddings and functions.
Norton Priory Museum & Gardens – North West Tourist Board www.nortonpriory.org
This multi-award winning attraction tells the 800 year history of Norton Priory, from monastic settlement to Brooke family home. The 38-acre site encompasses beautiful woodland gardens, museum galleries, sculpture trail and an enchanting Georgian Walled Garden. The museum is also home to the giant St.Christopher statue, a national treasure and a wonder of the medieval world. Norton Priory’s reputation for excellence in the field of education and disabled access continues to grow, whilst family-friendly facilities and an emphasis on high-quality customer service make Norton Priory an excellent day out, all year round.
Dairyland Farm World – South West Tourism www.dairylandfarmworld.com
This farm attraction is centred around a working diary farm. It aims to educate families about Cornish farm life, with plenty of ‘hands on’ experiences to keep the children occupied. The centrepiece is a mechanised rotary ‘space age’ milking parlour with a large viewing gallery, which gives a good insight into the workings of a dairy farm. There is a rural life museum with a large collection of farm machinery and tools. Shops and workshops are recreated as well as domestic rooms. There are lots of activities for children including a new indoor play barn, outdoor play areas, pony rides and animal handling.
Penshurst Place & Gardens – Tourism South East www.penshurstplace.com
Penshurst Place is a medieval manor house built in the 14th Century as a country residence for a wealthy London merchant. Over the centuries it has been the residence of Kings and noblemen including the great Elizabethan soldier, courtier and poet, Sir Philip Sidney. In 2002, the Sidney family marked their 450th year in residence with a special exhibition which attracted some 85,000 visitors to the house and gardens. An initiative that proved popular with the public is the ‘Football-Free Zone’ 2 for 1 promotion, introduced in 2002 to attract non-football loving visitors during the football ‘World Cup’. All marketing is supported by an excellent website.
Thackray Museum – Yorkshire Tourist Board www.thackraymuseum.org
The Thackray Museum was set up in 1997 and explains the ways in which people’s lives have changed over the past 150 years as the result of medical improvements. The museum collection has over 35,000 objects including a range of surgical instruments dating from the late 19th Century to the present day. The library has over 8,000 books including the largest collection of medical trade literature in the world. The museum has worked hard to provide not only an informative experience for visitors but a fun one too. It is very accessible and the displays tell a story as well as engaging the visitor. Staff are well-trained, customer service is excellent and the attraction offers real value for money.
