Award winning businesses showcase Moorlands tourism

From accommodation and dining, national visitor attractions and experiences, to inclusive, accessible tourism and the teams that deliver visitor services, Staffordshire Moorlands officially has some of the best in the business.

The prestigious 2026 Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Tourism Awards showcase the very best of local tourism across the region and we're delighted that so many Moorlands businesses brought home awards.

It's often said that people make experiences so congratulations to the team at Peak Wildlife Park who won silver in the Team of the Year category.

And it was a golden night for five local businesses who took the top awards in their categories: The Tawny Hotel won the top prize in the Large Hotel of the Year and the Taste of England Restaurant of the Year for The Plumicorn at The Tawny; Alton Towers took gold in the Large Visitor Attraction category; and two accommodation providers won their categories with Ford Wetley Cottage being named Self-catering Accommodation of the Year and Quarry Walk Park topping the Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year category.

Silver awards went to four local businesses including Alton Towers in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism category and the CBeebies Land Hotel at the resort won joint silver in the Large Hotel of the Year category; Peak Wildlife Park also took home silvers for Experience of the Year for its Polar Bear Experience and Regenerative Tourism. The Knot Inn at Rushton Spencer took silver in the Pub of the Year category and The Black Lion Inn at Butterton was silver winner in the Taste of England Casual Dining Award.

The awards kept coming for Peak Wildlife Park which took bronze in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category. Also winning bronze in the Taste of England Casual Dining category was The Star at Cotton.

Two Moorlands businesses narrowly missed out on the top three places but were highly commended - The Black Lion at Butterton in the Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year category and The Royal Oak at Rushton Spencer in the Taste of England Casual Dining Award.

Councillor Matt Swindlehurst, Cabinet member for Leisure and Tourism, said: "What a fantastic night it was for so many of our tourism businesses in the Moorlands! It's a true reflection of the quality and diversity of everything the Moorlands has to offer.

"These awards showcase the very best in the industry so it's wonderful to see local accommodation providers, pubs, restaurants, visitor experiences, and companies recognised for their dedication and hard work.

"Tourism is such a vital part of our local economy - visitors to Staffordshire contribute £2.7 billion annually to the county's economy and over £580 million to the Moorlands local economy where thousands of people work in the tourism industry. Thanks to business such as these, we can look forward our area continuing to grow in popularity as a destination of choice, and the benefits that has for our local economy, for many years to come."

Published on 27 March 2026