Archive for the ‘Carlisle’ Category

The winners of the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2008 were announced last night at a special ceremony at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal. The winners were:

Most Outstanding Customer Service Award – Daniel Fairweather, Windermere Marina Village
Unsung Hero – Alan Denwood, Lakes Aquarium
Lady Inglewood Award for Innovative People Management - The Old England, Bowness-on-Windermere
Large Hotel of the Year - The Old England Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere
Small Hotel of the Year - Appleby Manor Country House Hotel, Appleby
Bed & Breakfast of the Year - Augill Castle, Kirkby Stephen
Self Catering Holiday of the Year - The Lodge, Brampton
Holiday Park of the Year - Park Cliffe Camping and Caravan Estate, Windermere
Large Visitor Attraction - South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton-in-Furness
Small Visitor Attraction – The Quaker Tapestry, Kendal
Taste of Cumbria – Village Bakery, Melmerby, Penrith
Tourism Experience Award – Shacklabank Free Range Walking, Sedbergh
Business Tourism Award – Rheged, Penrith
Tourism Website – Windermere Lodge, Windermere

The Enjoy England Awards for Excellence were held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool last night, the first time they taken place outside London. Winners from the North West were:

Gold Awards:

Tourism Website of the Year – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Tourism Information Centre of the Year – Liverpool 08 Place

Silver Awards:

Large Hotel of the Year – Radisson Edwardian Manchester
Meet England Business Tourism Award – Manchester Central
Caravan Holiday Park of the Year – Sunset Park, near Blackpool
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Tullie House Museum, Carlisle

The shortlist for the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2008 includes more businesses from North West England than any other region. The entrants are:

Boltongate Old Rectory – Ireby, near Carlisle – Bed & Breakfast of the Year
Hillbark Hotel – Wirral – Small Hotel of the Year
Liverpool 08 Place – Liverpool - Tourist Information Centre of the Year
Manchester Central – Manchester – Business Tourism Award
Radisson Edwardian – Manchester – Large Hotel of the Year
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – Liverpool – Tourism Website of the Year
Stone Cottage – Penrith – Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Sunset Park Holiday Homes - Hambleton, near Blackpool – Caravan Park of the Year
Tullie House – Carlisle – Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

The awards will be held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool on April 23 2008, the first time they have been held outside London.

Carlisle Cathedral has received an award to preserve its stain glassed windows, including a memorial window to a former Dean. The £62,000 grant, from English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation, will go towards the estimated £88,000 cost of the project.

The present Dean of Carlisle, the Very Reverend Mark Boyling, said ‘The grant will enable us to preserve a well-loved memorial window to a former Dean and his family. It was paid for by public subscription in 1856 after Dean Tait had lost five daughters to scarlet fever within six weeks of each other. We are grateful to English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation for their support in helping us to retain this, and four other cathedral windows, for the future.’

Following months of delay Carlisle’s Botchergate will at last be closed to traffic on weekend nights. A traffic ban on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings between 9 pm and 5 am, will start today and run for a trial period of 18 months. The move, proposed by the police, is intended to cut the number of accidents involving revellers attracted to the street’s numerous bars and clubs.

Carlisle city centre will host a 9-day Christmas market starting Saturday December 1 2007. Capitalising on the success of last year’s market, it will feature over 80 stalls offering food, gifts, and more.

The annual Northwest Tourism Awards were held at Manchester Central last night. The winners included:

Large Hotel of the Year - Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Manchester
Small Hotel of the Year – Hillbark Hotel, Wirral
Bed and Breakfast of the Year – Boltongate Old Rectory, Cumbria
Large Attraction of the Year - Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle
Small Attraction of the Year – Ordsall Hall Museum, Salford
Taste of England’s Northwest – The London Carriage Works, Liverpool
Public Space Award – Keswick Market Place, Cumbria

Felicity Goodey, Chair of Tourism England’s Northwest said, ‘More than 29 million visitors stay with us each year now. Tourism contributes £10billion to the Northwest economy. This year we swept the board in the national awards for every type of accommodation. England’s best large and small hotels are in the Northwest, so is the best bed and breakfast and the best caravan park.’

The annual Northwest Tourism Awards will be held at Manchester Central on October 10. The event, organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, will be hosted by BBC TV presenter Ranvir Singh. The finalists include:

Large Hotel of the Year

Grosvenor Pulford - Chester
Lakeside Hotel - Windermere
Lancaster House Hotel - Lancaster
Radisson Edwardian Hotel - Manchester
Holiday Inn - Liverpool

Small Hotel of the Year

Alderley Edge Hotel - Cheshire
Swinside Lodge Hotel - Keswick
The Millstone - Mellor, Blackburn
Great John Street Hotel - Manchester
Hillbark Hotel - Wirral

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Chester Zoo - Chester
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery - Carlisle
Blackpool Zoo - Blackpool
Urbis - Manchester
Walker Art Gallery - Liverpool

Plans to ban vehicles from Botchergate in Carlisle on weekend evenings have been put on hold because the council does not have the budget to carry out any necessary work. The scheme, proposed by the police and intended to reduce drink related accidents, will next be considered in 2008 at the earliest.

Stobart Air has announced plans to bring commercial passenger services to Carlisle Airport. The proposed £25 million investment would see a new runway, control tower and hangers at the ageing airport, currently only used by private aircraft.