Trentham Wins Gold in latest Visit England Awards!

VisitEngland has announced the winners of its Visitor Attraction Accolades for 2022-2023, recognising the high quality visitor experiences on offer across England and Trentham in Staffordshire has been awarded the highest accolade: Gold!

“Trentham Gardens delivered a thoroughly enjoyable visitor experience providing the opportunity to explore 725 acres of spectacular and award-winning Gardens in an historic landscape. There is a very good increase on the 91% scored at the 2022 assessment with an outstanding 94% scored at this visit.”

Visit England Assessor’s report, June 2023

The accolades, awarded to 91 attractions across England, recognise all aspects of the visitor experience and are awarded in five categories including ‘Hidden Gem,’ ‘Best Told Story,’ ‘Quality Food and Drink,’ ‘Welcome,’ as well as ‘Gold’ for all round top scoring attractions like Trentham!

Trentham Senior Director Alastair Budd said: “We are thrilled to announce that Trentham Gardens has been awarded the esteemed VisitEngland Gold Visitor Attraction accolade!

"Huge thanks to our visitors who ensure we continue to look after this unique historic place, but also our dedicated staff and volunteers, whose passion and commitment have been recognised with a phenomenal 98% score."

A great place to visit in Staffordshire

Other highlights from the report include:

• A significant improvement in Pre-arrival experiences, now noted at 90%.
• The Italian Garden Tearoom recognised with a remarkable 92% score.

From the captivating Italian Garden and the serene trails of Piet Oudolf's Rivers of Grass, to the distinct 'Pods & Picnics' experience, Trentham showcased excellence in all categories, leaving the assessors thoroughly impressed.

Attractions have received accolades based on the scores they obtained following their annual VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme assessment.

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “These accolades are a testament to the outstanding experiences and customer service that attractions in England give visitors.

"They also recognise different aspects of the visitor experience with attractions who really go the extra mile, whether it’s offering exceptional food and drink or magical storytelling.

"The attractions honoured today go out of their way to make visits memorable, creating reasons for people to travel to new locations, also boosting local economies across England.”

More about the Visitor Attraction Accolades

Now in their ninth year VisitEngland’s Visitor Attraction Accolades are available to participants of the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme across a range of tourism attractions from historic houses, gardens, country parks and farm attractions to galleries, museums, churches and cathedrals.

Participating attractions are supported by a network of highly trained and experienced assessors who advise them on improving and promoting the quality, accessibility and sustainability of their offer. 

Winning attractions can display the accolade logo at their attraction, online and in their marketing materials.  

Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses, employing about 2.6 million people and, in 2022, generating £66.3 billion in domestic visitor spending.

See the full list of attractions to receive VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Accolades here: https://www.visitbritain.org/sites/default/files/vb-corporate/business-h...

Find out more about the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme here: https://www.visitbritain.org/business-advice/get-quality-assessed

About Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire

Trentham, in Staffordshire, offers one of the UK’s most diverse days out with a range of leisure activities for all ages.

It’s one of the country’s top leisure destinations, attracting more than 3.2m visitors per year. 

In 2021 Trentham won an iTravel Staycation Award for Green Space of the Year, in recognition of natural refuge the destination provided during the pandemic.

The fabulous, restored Trentham Gardens, at the heart of the estate, attracted 772,678 paid visits in 2021 – making them one of the most visited gardens in the UK and the fifth most visited paid for attraction in the 2022 Visit England survey.

At the 2022 Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism & Good Food Awards, Trentham also won awards for Large ‘Visitor Attraction of the Year’ and ‘Resilience and Innovation’ having demonstrated innovation, resilience and adaptation, along with support for its local community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Things to do at Trentham

Trentham is steeped in history and a famous landmark in the region. An important place for the local community, a place for sanctuary, reflection, and inspiration.

Attracting visitors far and wide, Trentham delights in welcoming multi-generational families – grandparents, parents, children, loved ones and friends come together to explore the landscape, spot the wildlife, take inspiration from the gardens, and experience the array of activities and event on offer.

The 725-acre estate, which was previously owned for over 400 years by the Dukes of Sutherland, has undergone a massive regeneration programme since 2003.

The famed Trentham Gardens includes the very important Italianate Gardens designed by Charles Barry in the 1830s, which have been lovingly restored using top landscape designers.

The gardens feature the UK’s first ‘barefoot’ walk, as well as a fantastic children’s adventure play area and maze, and a beautiful walk around the mile-long lake, originally laid out by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown in the 18th century.

Trentham is also home to Trentham Garden Centre and the expanded Shopping Village, an eclectic mix of shops and eateries with a 119-bedroom Premier Inn Hotel.

Trentham is a conservation and biodiversity hotspot, with Trentham Monkey Forest offering visitors the opportunity to walk amongst 140 free roaming Barbary macaques, in a natural woodland environment for this endangered species. 

Trentham boasts extensive woodlands with the formal conservation designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), with the wider estate providing grazing for rare breed herds and wild black fallow deer and most recently the reintroduction of endangered water voles.

For further information or images, please contact Lorraine Elliott at Trentham on 07970 920257 or email marketing@trentham.co.uk