Four Leicestershire Attractions Scoop VisitEngland Honours

Four of Leicestershire’s top local attractions have been named in VisitEngland’s annual attraction quality scheme.

The accolades celebrate excellence within the visitor attraction sector and showcase businesses that go the extra mile to provide a high-quality day out. Out of the nine attractions recognised across the East Midlands, four of them are located within Leicestershire.

Belvoir Castle was selected for having the ‘Best Told Story.’ The Castle, which is home to the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, has found new ways to showcase its royal history, including telling the story of the women who have made the castle special and ongoing fantastic events linked to the Castle’s story. They have also launched a range of guided tours telling the history of the regency era building right through to celebrating its appearances on TV and film, which include a starring role doubling for Windsor Castle in Netflix’s The Crown.

The 1620s House at Donington le Heath and the Melton Carnegie Museum, both run by Leicestershire County Council were both recognised as being ‘Hidden Gems’ – off the beaten path attractions which offer fascinating insights into local and regional history. The 1620s House is fully restored to be authentic to its 17th century origins has a storied history which takes in links to the gunpowder plot and witchcraft.

And Melton Carnegie Museum, founded over 100 years ago by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, tells the story of this famous market town, its geographically protected food such as Pork Pies and Stilton cheese, with collections from the bronze age to the present day, not to mention the origins of the phrase ‘Painting The Town Red’.

And finally the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience, a fantastic free museum telling the story of the iconic motorcycle manufacturer, its history and role within motorbike production, racing and the movies, was given a VisitEngland Gold award, the highest accolade available and one which recognises businesses that out-perform in their category and offer outstanding quality.

This once more underlines the fantastic local tourism offer than has led to 32 million people visiting the county in 2024, and generated £2.558 billion for the Leicestershire economy (Data from the independent STEAM tourism economic impact modelling service).

This scheme involves a rigorous independent assessment by VisitEngland across 20 categories and proves that an attraction offers a consistently high standard of service and experience. This could be through a warm welcome, an engaging story, a delicious lunch or the overall visitor experience. Accolades are given for the following categories: Welcome, Best Told Story, Quality Food & Drink, Hidden Gem and Gold.

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “These accolades put England’s outstanding attractions in the spotlight as they recognise the amazing visitor experiences available across the country. They acknowledge the people who give the warmest welcomes, provide the most mouth-watering food and tell the stories that delight visitors, making them jewels of our tourism offer.

“The excellence on show today underlines the quality within the industry, ensuring fantastic visitor experiences. From galleries and museums, breweries and castles to theme parks and gardens, nature reserves and wineries, these attractions go the extra mile to guarantee visitors leave with magical memories.”

Visit Leicester’s Director of Place Marketing Mike Denby said: “It is great to hear that our venue have been chosen for these accolades. We see on a daily basis just how hard our attractions work to provide the very best customer experience and I am absolutely delighted for the staff at Belvoir Castle, the 1620s House, Melton Carnegie and Triumph that their efforts have been recognised in this way.

“Leicestershire has a vibrant and exciting tourism offer and I would like to thank VisitEngland for their ongoing support in helping us to showcase it. It is a challenging time for the industry, and awards like this go a long way to reminding our colleagues what it is all about!”

Councillor Kevin Crook, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Heritage at Leicestershire County Council, said: “We are incredibly proud of our heritage and the sites we manage across the county help to both showcase and protect our history.

“It’s fantastic to see Visit England recognise both 1620s House and Garden and Melton Carnegie Museum as great places to see and engage with our past.

“This recognition is also testament to the incredible hard work of our teams who operate both sites, who are providing visitors with a first-class experience.”