VisitEngland has revealed the cream of England’s tourism industry for 2018 and it includes Hall Hill Farm in County Durham.
Hall Hill Farm in Durham is celebrating after being named as the Silver Award winner in the Awards for Excellence for 2018. The popular farm attraction, located in County Durham, is now the very proud recipient of a national VisitEngland tourism award.
Shortlisted in the Best Small Visitor Attraction category, Hall Hill Farm, was the only tourist attraction in the North, to feature on the best Visitor Attraction shortlist for either large or small visitor attractions, in the 2018 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.
Shortlisted in the same category were Screech Owl Sanctuary & Wildlife Park in Cornwall who were awarded bronze, and The Charterhouse in London, which won the Gold award.
This news for Hall Hill Farm comes on top of 2017 being a record-breaking year for the popular Durham farm after increasing its visitor numbers by 15%. The award-winning Hall Hill Farm, a family-run tourist attraction, which has been providing children and families with an educational and fun day out for over 35 years, recently received the Highly Commended accolade, in the National Farm Attraction of the year awards, and last year’s winner of the Silver Award in the 2017 North East England Tourism Awards for Best Small Visitor Attraction, and Richard Darlington, the shepherd was also named as Durham Tourism Superstar in 2017.
“Out of the hundreds of attractions across the country we are all thrilled to be silver winners in such prestigious national awards,” said Ann Darlington, tourism development manager at Hall Hill Farm.
“It’s such an honour to receive national recognition. We are a very small team, at the heart of which is a family run business, we are very lucky to have staff, who all work so hard at ensuring our visitors always enjoy a great day out. This really has put a spring in our step and we are looking forward to welcoming lots more visitors to Hall Hill Farm this year.”
Now in its 29th year, the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence is firmly established as representing the highest accolade in English tourism. This year’s competition was intense with up to three finalists selected in each category from hundreds of submissions.
Michelle Gorman, Managing Director at Visit County Durham said: “We’re thrilled that Hall Hill Farm has been awarded a Silver small visitor attraction award for excellence by VisitEngland. The farm and its staff work extremely hard to go above and beyond for visitors to the county and none more so than our very own Durham Tourism Superstar finalist and shepherd, Richard Darlington. Visit County Durham fully supports and congratulates Hall Hill Farm for their recognition in these awards, celebrating excellence in tourism”.
VisitEngland Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said:“These awards shine a spotlight on our fantastic tourism industry, with the winners showcasing the quality, innovation and excellence on offer throughout the country. These winners provide outstanding and truly memorable visitor experiences.”
Latest VisitEngland statistics show that from January to November 2017 Brits took more than 44 million holidays in England, spending in excess of £10 billion on staycations, up five and six percent respectively compared to the same period in 2016. Tourism in England contributes £106 billion to the British economy.
Set in the beautiful rolling hills of Durham, Hall Hill Farm is an award-winning mixed farm of 290 hectares. The multi-award winning farm provides a great day out for children and schools with loads of great things to do and see.
The farm is now open daily from 10.30am until 5pm until the autumn. For more information: www.hallhillfarm.co.uk