RIBBLE VALLEY ST RS IN TOURISM AWARDS
There were 28 fantastic winners, and this years the awards were presented by the Mayor of Ribble Valley, Cllr Stuart Hirst, Tim Padfield from BBC Radio Lancashire and Nicola Beneduce, from events sponsors, Harrison and Drury.
A brand-new awards for Ethical Tourism award, was presented to the Shop of Hope (1) which specialises in selling products from ethically and environmentally sound sources. They offer a wide variety of gifts and clothes from a variety of places across the globe and are always keen to promote local tourism, even acting as a visitor information point.
The award for Tourism in Community celebrates a commitment by their business to their community. Elissa Whitter and Callam Thomson (2) from The Old Station Café Longridge won this award as they are a huge asset to their local community and their café has become a focal point for tourists and the local community. They organise hugely successful events which bring the community together to raise significant funds for local charities.
Effective marketing is challenging in a rural area like Ribble Valley especially where competition is so high. The Coach and Horses (3) always work hard across all platforms to raise awareness, including their amazing food and accommodation. They are so deserving of the award for Digital Excellence as their imagery, timing and content are always excellent, bringing their offer to life online.
The Quality Tourism award was awarded to Oakdean Cottages (4) as they welcome guests from all over the world, providing beautiful self-catering holiday cottages which have set a new standard of quality in their locality. The owners have become amazing hosts, and they lead by their own high standards of efficiency, cleanliness and how guests should be catered for which is evident of success by high numbers of repeat visitors.
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The Longridge Soapbox Derby won the award for Inspiring Event (5) with something that has never been seen before in Ribble Valley, it was new to the calendar last year and attracted thousands of people. It was highly entertaining for all ages and was far from easy to organise – it was a smash hit!
Everything Retreat creates the ‘dream’ come to life and that’s why they deserve the award for Tourism Innovation (6), and they don’t come more innovative than this! Here you are invited to disconnect from the stresses and strains of everyday life, with an experience of pure quality and wellness, in the heart of Ribble Valley. They always ensure complete privacy and a safe haven in the midst of an area of outstanding natural beauty.
There is so much creativity in the Ribble Valley but one business that stood out this year for the award for Creative Diversification was Wood End Farm (7) where they have diversified their farming activities by offering a range of new things for visitors and community groups to discover. They welcome care home residents and schools to the farm and their educational facility is suitable for all ages and abilities. Also, their much-loved alpacas provide a popular feature at weddings in the area!
Awards for Transformational Tourism go to businesses where change and improvement is dramatic and effective, and this year Stirk House Hotel (8) won an award for taking the brave and costly decision to demolish a large old building and replaced it with a stunning new event venue with outdoor patios – it’s not only benefitted business, but the aesthetic enhancement to the hotel has been dramatic!
Another worthy winner of the Transformational Tourism award went to the Rum Fox Grindleton as they restored a long redundant pub into one of the most progressive eating places in Ribble Valley, setting high standards from the outset.
Our future environment has become such an important and urgent issue, and one which every tourism business needs to consider. Ribble Valley Holiday Homes (9) won the award for Environmental Excellence as they have dramatically reduced the environmental impact of their business by installing heat pumps, EV chargers and solar panels. The business employs a local ‘home grown’ team responsible for in-house cleaning, laundry, marketing, and maintenance, resulting in reduced carbon footprint when compared to outsourcing each of these elements.
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Customer Service always makes visitor experiences so much more memorable. Fiona Clarke (10) from Pendle Lodges won the award for Excellence in Customer Service as she is an exceptional host who goes out of her way to provide lodges that are a home from home plus plenty of little extras. Relatively new into this business, she is a natural, offering her customers service which is just amazing. Her consistently high, 5* ratings proves that she is doing something right and why she has so many repeat customers.
An award for Excellence in Customer Service also went to Kyle Jeffers (11) from James’ Places who has been with the company for many years, and knows each of the kitchens he works in intimately His passion for the business is evident, always creating exceptional food and service. He has a positive attitude in times of pressure and remains cool, calm, and collected during large wedding breakfasts and banqueting functions. A true key team player who focus is the customer’s experience.
The award for Team Excellence Customer Service was presented to Higher Buck, Waddington (12), as they are a team who always provide a warm, professional, and very natural customer service without fail. Nothing is ever too much trouble!
A Team Excellent in Customer Service award was presented to Maxwell’s Café Bar (13), a popular café bar where the staff are described as ‘absolutely amazing’ and who work hard to provide a warm, welcoming & attentive atmosphere for customers. The team is more like a family unit where everyone does their part to ensure smooth running of the business. Their loyalty to the business is demonstrated in many instances!
An award for Ribble Valley Food Champion was presented to Maurizio Bocchi of La Locanda (14). Maurizio is committed to promoting Ribble Valley as a ‘must-visit’ food and drink destination. Regularly serving some of the ‘best Italian food outside Italy’ this chef restaurant is a traditional fine-dining Italian restaurant and the UK’s most awarded Italian restaurant outside of London. Maurizio is respected for his commitment to slow food, sourcing the best quality local produce and specialising in pure, authentic cuisine. Food Champion is an award which can also be made to a business which plays an important part in grass roots education of cookery, which is so important in developing the foundation for our important local food industry. Flavours Cookery School (15) is deserving recipient of this award as they set up to help the community and visits schools, running afterschool clubs, supporting children with their learning, and providing a fun and practical way to learn about cooking. Flavours also runs local cookery classes providing a brilliant facility for the people in the area.
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The awards for Unsung Hero are something keenly celebrated every year as it recognises individuals’ people who often work out of the limelight but who are critical to the running of any business. The first Unsung Hero to celebrate this year, literally does not stop working! Anders Giles of James’ Places (16) performs a variety of roles within the business, always the first to volunteer when the need arises, whatever the role. He always goes the extra mile and spends his time making sure everything is ticking over behind the scenes. You can guarantee the place will be spotless when he is on shift, A team player and real unsung hero.
The next Unsung Hero, is definitely deserving of this award. Olivia Hartley from Bowland Wild Boar Park (17) is an invaluable ‘pocket rocket’ member of staff. She takes on any role that is asked of her and more importantly she goes above and beyond anything that is asked. Just recently she has supported a member of staff struggling with mobility issues. She became the right-hand women, eyes, ears, and legs with support both physically and emotionally which cannot be measured by the written word. Her contribution to the business is unmatched!
A new award introduced this year was the Apprentice of the Year recognising that apprentices can be the future of any business. Award winner Ashley Prince from Bowland Food Hall (18), is currently doing an apprenticeship and has taken complete ownership of her part of the business working hard to make it her own. She takes huge pride in what she does and has since progressed in her role to helping to prepare all the desserts and cakes in this busy enterprise. She is a true team player and will regularly ‘jump on’ to help in a variety of roles. As an apprentice she is really keen to develop and continue to grow.
We always love to recognise Rising Stars and Hannah Tweddle from The Spread Eagle Sawley (19) is definitely a rising star in this business! She is headed for a great career in our industry. She works extremely hard is already an assistant manager in the business. Hannah is very passionate about her work, and is part way through completing an Aspire apprenticeship which will eventually enable her to run her own pub. Our next Rising Star is really keen to grow and develop in her role. Lauren Woods (20) from Holmes Mill will throw herself into any area or work, whether it be waiting on tables, jumping on the bar, helping to run a wedding, or generally managing a team. She continues to develop and is a strong leader, always setting the example for the rest of the team. Great teamwork always leads to success, even if it behind the scenes! A tourism team that won the Tourism Team award for all their hard work behind the scenes was Stirk House Hotel Housekeeping (21) as they show consistent dedication and love for their department, working tirelessly all year through accumulating over 30 years of service between them! Carrying a load at times that would push even the best of us to the highest of limits, not only are they on board to ensure guest rooms and all front of house areas are cleaned to an exceptional standard, the care they show for the guests is also second to none, going above and beyond.
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Another award for Tourism Team was presented to a team which supports many tourism businesses and employs nine cleaners and three maintenance staff. DKD Cleaning and Maintenance (22) began just a couple of years ago from humble beginnings with just two employees’ and is now a most successful enterprise working behind the scenes at a growing number of our accommodation businesses.
Retail Excellence is recognition to those who make shopping fabulous for tourists to visit. Charlotte Eccles (23) from Raffia who won this award, has time for each and every customer as she is always chatty and cheerful, developing rapport and providing that extra service by her interpersonal skills. She promotes not only her fabulous business but others on her social media feeds.
There are many places in Ribble Valley that everyone can take inspiration from. One business that merits the award for Inspirational Tourism is Tom’s Table, Clitheroe (24), where the staff treat each customer as a friend, not just a number, or a bill! Staff go above and beyond to suit dietary needs; they speak to you and recognise you each time you arrive. The owners are great supporters of local charities and support local schools, with talks to children on working in hospitality. Visitors are now coming from far and wide to dine at this venue and now, new visitor accommodation has been added. To conclude with customer quote ‘Ribble Valley should be very proud of this establishment.’
A Special Recognition award, was presented to an organisation not based in the Ribble Valley but one which keenly supports tourism and hospitality in the area. BBC Radio Lancashire (25) regularly promotes tourism in its features and their reporters are regular visitors to Ribble Valley events and attractions. They regularly invite tourism operators, chefs, event organisers and even tourism officers into the studio to interview. It is an organisation valued by visitors and locals alike, a media organisation we trust to give us honest unbiased news and accurate travel and weather. It is a media outlet which gives local businesses the opportunity of free publicity. An individual award for Special Recognition was presented to Pauline Smith (26) from Gibbon Bridge. Pauline’s nomination stood out and the panel unanimously agreed on this winner! She has worked enthusiastically and tirelessly at Gibbon Bridge for over forty years. She is someone who was integral to the early development of the area’s wedding industry and someone who happily undertakes any role in the business to get the job done.
The award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to someone based even beyond Lancashire and to someone who has created something amazing which promotes Ribble Valley and, more specifically, our amazing wedding industry. Tammy Hale (27) producer from Little Gem who created ‘Wedding Valley’ an outstanding piece of PR which captures the beauty of our landscape, the vibrancy of our businesses and the true nature of our community. And it is already generating new enquiries and new business! An award was also presented to Little Gem for the way in which the programme was filmed and narrated.
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The Ribble Valley Tourism Association
RVTA is a partnership of businesses covering all sectors of the visitor economy, including hospitality, accommodation, retail, and visitor attractions. The association works with Ribble Valley Borough Council and other agencies, to encourage the development of quality tourism in this area, whilst making sure visitors benefit the locality, and are sensitive to all who live here. Our Purpose is to act as the Voice for the local tourism industry and to actively promote visitors to come and visit the Ribble Valley.
If you would like to know more about the work of the Ribble Valley Tourism Association please visit www.rvta.co.uk where you can also join on line.
Tourism in Ribble Valley
To find out more about the Tourism initiatives managed by Ribble Valley Borough Council please contact:
Tom Pridmore
Tourism and Events Officer
Economic Regeneration Team
Ribble Valley Borough Council
Church Walk
Clitheroe BB7 2RA
T : 01200 414496
M : 07807 597347
visitribblevalley.co.uk
