Winning awards is a recognition of great work and an appreciation of improvements still to come. We meet two of the East of England Tourism 2022/23 winners.
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award
Winner: RSPB Minsmere
The RSPB Minsmere team was delighted to win the Gold Award for Accessibility and Inclusivity at the East of England Tourism Awards in March - and has planned more improvements to access at the globally-renowned nature reserve.
On arrival it is hard to miss the award – it has pride of place on the reception desk.
Bryony Tuijl, Minsmere’s visitor operations manager, is delighted: “It’s not every day that you win a Gold Award, and we are super proud of this one! It is also a real statement to our visitors that we want as many people as possible to enjoy Minsmere.
"What they find here is a real feast for the senses: a beautiful and dramatic wildlife spectacle; the sounds of birds, sea, and wind in the reeds and trees; the fresh air with its changing seasonal smells. The wildness and tranquillity offer a real ‘nature cure’ that is important for mental well-being and should be available to visitors off all types.”
RSPB entered for the award on completion of an accessible boardwalk that allows people using wheelchairs or mobility scooters and parents with buggies to access the reserve’s East Hide. This provides the most popular views across the Scrape, a series of lagoons where large numbers of birds are easy to watch.
Among the highlights are avocets; a species so important to the RSPB that it features on their logo. “The creation of the accessible boardwalk was a real partnership success. Our friends at the Waveney Bird Group came up with the idea and worked with us closely during the development and delivery phases. The Coast and Heath AONB provided vital funds,” Bryony explained.
“We also extended East Hide and improved it for visitors with limited mobility, making access easier and adding floor to ceiling windows to open up viewing opportunities. We are looking at further access improvements and developing events for groups that are currently not able to enjoy what we have to offer. The Award marked the completion of an important part of our plans to open up access, but we think there is so much more we can do!”
Taste of East of England Award
Sponsored by Adnams
Winner: The Unruly Pig
The man at the helm of this multi-award winning gastropub in Bromeswell, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, Brendan Padfield, has put the tourism award in pride of place.
While it joins a clutch of awards, from the Number One Estrella Damm UK Top 50 Gastropub Awards to The National Restaurant Awards 2023, The Good Pub Guide’s Dining Pub of the Year 2021 and all manner of respected Top 50 and Top 100 places to dine, Brendan says this one is particularly special.
“We’re never complacent and I think it speaks volumes for the quality of the kitchen and the leadership in the kitchen. This award more than anything else speaks to the attention to detail of the team,” he says.
The award has pride of place at the meet and greet station, making it compulsory viewing for everyone who comes in. “It has pole position,” adds Brendan.
“It is a huge honour to be part of this award. It is great for us and it is great for Suffolk.”
The Unruly Pig is loved for its fine but relaxed dining where fresh produce takes centre stage, meaning the menu changes according to what’s in season and what’s particularly excellent at the market at the time.
Brendan is full of praise for his chefs and his team, with the kitchen headed by chef patron Dave Wall and head chef Karl Green: “The team makes me proud each day,” says Brendan.
The pub, which he opened in 2015, serves ‘Britalian’ food - fresh seasonal British food with an Italian influence. The wine list has an Italian bias too, Brendan calls it an eclectic list with something for everybody - and more than 60 wines available by the glass.
That’s due to Brendan’s love of Italy, a country he’s been visiting and enjoying for at least 30 years.
“It is my favourite country in the world. I love its cuisine, I love its people, I love its quirkiness, I love every bit of Italy,” he says. He has a particular passion for the Salento region in the south: “It’s the market garden of Italy, with fantastic ingredients and fantastic trattoria cooking.”
That’s the emphasis he and the team will be continuing at The Unruly Pig, using the best ingredients to create fabulous dishes in a fun and relaxed setting.
The East of England Tourism Awards 2023-2024 will launch for entries in July. For details, keep an eye on tourismawards.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article