One of the RSPB’s best loved nature reserves has just received another accolade.
RSPB Bempton Cliffs picked up a Bronze at last week’s Welcome to Yorkshire’s White Rose Awards – which meant some of the team swapping their fleeces for their finery for the evening.
The glittering ceremony, the largest celebration of tourism in the UK, took place at Leeds Arena with around 800 guests from the cream of Yorkshire businesses and attractions in attendance.
The nature reserve was a finalist in both the Accessibility and Inclusive Tourism and the Large Visitor Attraction categories, taking Bronze in the latter.
Site Manager, Dave O’Hara, was delighted to be named amongst the winners:
‘Just to reach the finals against such strong competition is a real credit to every one of our staff and volunteers. To actually come away with a Bronze award is an amazing achievement. We’ll certainly by chinking our glasses to this when we get together at our Christmas party ‘.
Earlier this year, the reserve was named as Visit Hull and East Yorkshire’s Remarkable Visitor Attraction of 2019 and will retain the title until March 2020.
Communications Officer, Maria Prchlik, explained why awards are important:
‘The publicity surrounding awards helps raise awareness far and wide - and the spotlight doesn’t just shine on the winners but the whole area.
It also helps us measure what we’re doing against some of the most successful and innovative attractions in the country. In our winning category, we were up against both Castle Howard and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. These are leading attractions with double and four times our visitor numbers. It’s good to know we can compete against the biggest and the best - and to be inspired by them’.
All winners from the White Rose Awards will now be automatically entered into the national Visit England Awards.
The cliff top nature reserve is open all year. Over winter there are no admission charges but donations are appreciated. A number of free activities run throughout the winter months – more details at: rspb.org.uk/bemptoncliffs.