BOSSINGTON Hall has reached the finals of the National Tourism Awards after being judged the region’s B&B and and guest house of the year.

The venue in Selworthy, Porlock, will be vying for national recognition alongside 15 other regional finalists after impressing in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, which were held last month.

The awards are now in their 34th year and will see those finalists from 16 regional contests recognised as gold, silver and bronze winners across 15 core categories.

There were more than 1,730 applications from the 16 regional competitions who were automatically entered into the national awards.

Andrew Stokes, director of VisitEngland, which leads the awards, said: “The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence showcase England’s outstanding tourism products and the innovation and creativity thriving within the industry.

“The awards also acknowledge the people and businesses that work so hard to provide visitors with world-class tourism experiences, delivering exceptional customer service time-after-time.”

While Bossington Hall aims for national success, entries for this year’s Tourism Awards in Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Bath, Somerset and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are now open until Sunday, June 23.

The awards are free to enter and last year’s participants said they were invaluable; great for business, staff morale, recruitment, networking and the free feedback given was a brilliant tool to enable them to get even better.

There are awards for accommodation, food and drink, wedding and business venues, unsung heroes, sustainability as well as events, experiences, visitor information, attractions and new for this year is an International Tourism Award.