Visit England Chooses Chatsworth For Excellence Awards

Chatsworth has been chosen as a finalist in the ‘Large Visitor Attraction’ category of Visit England’s Excellence Awards – a celebration of the cream of English Tourism.

The winner will be announced at a glittering Awards Ceremony at the Sage Centre in Gateshead on 9 May 2015.

Chatsworth has seen significant investment in recent years. More than £14 million was invested in upgrading the visitor experience as part of the Masterplan programme of improvements while major events like the ‘Beyond Limits’ monumental sculpture exhibition in the garden, the ‘Chatsworth Country Fair’ and the ‘Chatsworth Festival – Art Out Loud’ draw in thousands of visitors.

The Large Visitor Attraction category covers visitor attractions of all kinds, with over 50,000 visitors per annum, including attractions that offer pre-booked tickets, museums, interpretation centres, theme parks, historic houses and castles. Chatsworth is facing competition for the top prize from Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in Shropshire, Liverpool Cathedral, The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall and the Roman Baths and Pump Room in Bath, Somerset.

James Berresford, chief executive of VisitEngland said: “It’s been another successful year for our Excellence Awards as we’ve received hundreds of applications of an extremely high standard.

“That’s why all the finalists should be incredibly proud that they’ve been short-listed against such tough competition. I’d like to congratulate all the finalists who now represent the top five in their category in England and wish them all the very best of luck on Awards night at the Sage Centre in Gateshead – a spectacular venue to celebrate the industry’s best.”