THE winners of the UK Heritage Awards 2020 were announced via an online virtual event – and three Cumbrian locations were awarded prestigious prizes.
The UK Heritage Awards honour the very best historic houses, gardens, museums and heritage sites in the UK. The 2020 UK Heritage Awards categories included: Best Family Day Out, Great Place to Eat, Most Improved Heritage Development, Best Wedding Venue, Contribution to Heritage and Finest Place to Stay etc.
To celebrate the very best of UK Heritage, the shortlisted venues from around the country as well as the esteemed judging panel joined together virtually to mark the special occasion.
Best Family Day Out
Birdoswald Roman Fort, along Hadrian’s Wall won the Best Family Day Out award.
In 2018, English Heritage opened their flagship family-friendly site at Birdoswald Roman Fort, aimed particularly at families and created using the ‘Kids in Museums’ principles.
The museum space is beautifully illustrated using characters to represent those that lived, worshipped and worked at the wall. It houses a variety of interactives, such as a lego table to build parts of the wall, a crane to replicate the building of a Roman archway, a digital quiz to decide which wall dweller you are and a periscope, among others.
The judges said: Birdoswald Roman Fort is very hands on and interactive, fantastic for children. It is accessible, and allows people of all ages to engage together. There is a large variety of activities to take part in. The attraction is educational and tells the story of the history of the fort. Activities take place indoors and outdoors, engaging children and adults of all ages.
And Cumbria had two success stories in the Great Place to Eat category, with Levens Kitchen at Levens Hall, Kendall the overall winners and Askham Hall gaining a Highly Commended.
Levens Kitchen at Levens Hall opened in March 2019 (pictured above). A purpose-built café and dining space, the building was designed to complement its surroundings, therefore was built using locally sourced limestone, sandstone, oak and Cumbrian slate, in order to create a modern building within the historic surroundings of Levens Hall. Of the 43 contractors used on the project, only four were based outside Cumbria.
The judges said: “Levens Kitchen is a new build and has been made from sustainable materials. We were very impressed with the sensitivity towards ensuring that the building fits into its historic surroundings as well as the use of local craftsmen and materials. Customer reviews are consistently good, and menus are of high quality.”
A multi award winning Lake District hideaway, Askham Hall is a 13th-century rare Grade 1 listed Pele Tower house turned restaurant with rooms, founded on food and drink. Its restaurant ‘Allium at Askham Hall’ by Richard Swale recently achieved its first Michelin star. Last year the property received the Hudson’s special commendation in this category.
The judges said: A prized enterprise in historic buildings and excellent reviews. Top quality menus using locally sourced produce. The judges felt that Askham should receive recognition for the award of its first Michelin star – an impressive achievement.
The annual UK Heritage Awards are hosted by Visit Heritage, the UK’s leading heritage, tourism and destination marketing company. Visit Heritage publishes best-selling heritage guide Hudson’s and the UK’s longest-running independent hotel guide, Signpost.
The winners of the UK Heritage Awards 2020 were crowned across twelve categories, which were adjudicated by a panel of judges formed of leading figures and experts on UK Heritage including:
Paul Bridle – CEO of Excellence Squared Group Ltd and Director of Visit Heritage, the UK’s leading heritage, tourism and destination marketing company.
Annie Reilly – Manager at Heritage Open Days for the National Trust, an independent charity and membership organisation for environmental and heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Lizzie Glithero-West – Chief Executive at The Heritage Alliance, an NGO representing the biggest coalition of heritage interests in England.
Jeremy Musson – An Architectural Historian, author and consultant, plus former Country Life Architecture Editor (1998 – 2007) Jeremy also presented the BBC Two series The Curious House Guest.
Norman Hudson OBE – Chairman of the Historic Houses Foundation and consultant to the Heritage Sector.
The full list of winners, and commended venues, are:
Family Day Out
Winner: Birdoswald Roman Fort, Cumbria
Great Places to Eat
Winner: Levens Kitchen, Kendal
Highly Commended: Askham Hall, Penrith
Wonderful Places to Stay
Winner: Broughton Hall, North Yorkshire
Highly Commended: Larchfield Estate, Belfast
Most Improved Heritage Development
Winner: Winchester Cathedral, Winchester
Hidden Gem
Winner: Accessing Aiden Project, Northumberland
Best Wedding Venue
Joint Winner: Victoria Baths, Manchester
Joint Winner: Goodwood, Chichester
Outstanding Customer Experience
Winner: Goodwood, Chichester
Best Event, Festival or Exhibition
Winner: Eltham Palace “Our House”, Greenwich
Contribution to Heritage
Winner: English Heritage – Speaking with Shadows podcast
Best Corporate Experience
Winner: Thirlestane Castle, Scottish Borders
Must Visit
Winner: Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes
Judges Discretionary Award – Best of Heritage
Winner: Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes
