Agency by William Gibson 
A cluster of local businesses – including two pubs owned by the collapsed Flat Cap Hotels – are up for awards in the Marketing Cheshire Tourism awards.
Holmes Chapel’s Harry Styles tour is up for one award but the formerly Cranage-based Flat Cap Hotels is in the running for two, with the Vicarage at Cranage in the running for pub of the year – facing competition including The Bear’s Paw in Warmingham – while Flat Cap’s The Bridge at Prestbury is in the running for the team of the year.
The nominations might be some good news for Flat Cap, which has yet to find buyer after collapsing with debts of £7m. A management company running it for the administrator has managed to turn a small profit, and news of the award nominations can only be a boost for the firm, which had its head office in Cranage.
The company blamed the pandemic, rising energy costs and unexpected increases in inflation and interest rates for its failure. Flat Cap, incorporated in May 2015, owned the Vicarage in Holmes Chapel as well as the Bridge in Prestbury, and leased the Courthouse in Knutsford.
Holmes Chapel’s Harry Styles tours and Jodrell Bank are also among those aiming for the stars as finalists for the Marketing Cheshire Tourism awards.
The awards celebrate the people and businesses behind Cheshire and Warrington’s tourism sector, which contributes £3.41 billion to the region’s economy and attracts more than 50 million visitors every year.
Organisers Marketing Cheshire said judges had to sift through a record number of entries for the awards, which will see the winners crowned at a ceremony at Chester Cathedral on Thursday, 6th March, the second year in a row the venue has hosted the event.
Among attractions hitting the right note with judges was the Harry’s Home Village Tour.
The guided tour through Holmes Chapel, which allows people to learn about the history of the village where the global pop star grew up, includes a stop at Harry’s former workplace Mandeville’s bakery and Twemlow viaduct, where the singer is said to have had his first kiss. The award is a finalist in three categories – namely: best tourism marketing project of the year, experience of the year and new tourism business of the year.
Also in the experience of the year category is Pink Floyd’s 50th anniversary of “The Dark Side of the Moon” immersive planetarium experience at Jodrell Bank. Other entries in that category include the tour at the Forest Distillery, Macclesfield.
Warmingham’s the Bear’s Paw is also up for an award in the small-serviced accommodation of the year category, facing other entrants including Cheshire Boutique Stays, Nantwich.
In the running for business events venue of the year is Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement, competing against Champneys Mottram Hall, Macclesfield, and Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa.
One of the most popular categories for entries was the newly-added best event or festival award, which has been added following feedback from businesses and the desire for Marketing Cheshire to shine a light on this growing sector in the region’s visitor economy.
Finalists in this category are: Bewilderwood Presents Christmas (based in Malpas); Deva Fest (held at Cholmondeley Castle); Fireworks and Fun, The Ice Cream Farm, Tattenhall; Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester and Steam at the Lift, Anderton Boat Lift and Visitor Centre, Anderton.
Chester Zoo is also hoping to get its claws on a trophy after also finding itself as a finalist in three categories.
It is hoping love is in the air in the wedding venue of the year category but must beat rivals including Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa.
Thanks to its new Snow Leopard enclosure, Chester Zoo is also finalist in the team of the year category, which celebrates the work that goes on behind the scenes. Other finalists going for glory in this category include the Canal and River Trust.
The zoo is also a finalist in the visitor attraction of the year category alongside Forest Distillery in Macclesfield and Tatton Park, as well as Wild Shore, Delamere.
Trevor Brocklebank, chair of Marketing Cheshire, said: “Every year the quality and breadth of entries from across all parts of the region is breathtaking.
“It’s great to see the new best event or festival category attracting a host of entries. Our region welcomes more than 36.3 million visitors each year and every one of our finalists plays a huge part in the continued success of Cheshire and Warrington’s world-renowned tourism gems.”
