Historic house Netherby Hall wins prestigious regional tourism award
A CUMBRIAN country house has won best self-catering accommodation at a prestigious regional awards ceremony.
The Grade II* listed mansion at Longtown is home to nine luxury self-catering apartments and cottages set in the gardens and grounds of a 36-acre private estate. Netherby Hall also runs a series of initiatives such as producing its own gin, and offering experience breaks which include horse-drawn carriage rides to the nearby Michelin-starred Pentonbridge Inn.
Kim Capstick, who is Director of Operations at Netherby Hall, said: “We are absolutely over the moon to have won self-catering accommodation of the year at the Cumbria Tourism Awards.
“I’m so proud of the whole team who work really hard to ensure that every guest has a fantastic time at Netherby Hall.
“Cumbria is home to so many high quality, amazing tourism businesses, so it’s a huge honour to have won this award.”
The Cumbria Tourism Awards celebrate and recognise quality across a wide range of tourism businesses which drive a visitor economy worth £4.1 billion and support more than 43,500 full-time jobs. Held at the Castle Green Hotel at Kendal, this year’s awards were the showpiece event in the organisation’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and saw the winners of 16 categories announced on the night including accommodation, experiences, food and drink, and ethical, responsible and sustainable tourism.
As winner of the self-catering accommodation category, Netherby Hall will go forward to represent the county at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in 2025.
Over the past 10 years, Netherby Hall’s owners Gerald and Margo Smith have overseen a multi-million pound renovation project of the estate, transforming the hall’s former outbuildings into luxury self-catering accommodation and sensitively restoring the house and its walled garden. The couple also own and operate Pentonbridge Inn, for which the walled garden at Netherby Hall supplies seasonal fruit and vegetables. Botanicals from the garden are also used in Netherby Hall’s own gin which is distilled on site.
Following a successful launch in 2023, Netherby Hall is running its experience break packages for a second year on selected dates this summer. The create-your-own-break initiative includes private tours of the house and gardens, gardening masterclasses, as well as horse-drawn carriage rides around the grounds and to Pentonbridge Inn.