A WENSLEYDALE-based business is celebrating being named as the country’s best rural tourism company.

The Rural Business Awards aim to recognise and celebrate the successes of businesses operating in the UK’s rural economy – a sector which in England alone contributes £261bn to the nation’s economy, nearly a fifth of the country’s total economic activity.

Held online for the first time due to the lockdown, in the 2020/21 national final, 12 category winners were announced following a record number of entrants. The winner of the Best Rural Tourism Business was North Yorkshire-based The Wensleydale Experience.

Offering an integrated experience of local life, the Wensleydale Experience is based in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It provides guests the chance to stay in their luxury yurts or at an 18th Century temple folly, and also runs farm tours and experiences from the yurt site, which is also a working farm. Visitors are educated in an authentic way on local agriculture.

The Wensleydale Experience works with several on-site partners to offer further services: Fairhurst's at Berry's farm shop and café provides homemade local food and gifts; while The Healing Collective provides complementary therapies.

Owner of The Wensleydale Experience, Olly Thornton-Berry said: "It is absolutely amazing to win this award in recognition of our focus on sustainability, going above and beyond for our guests and doing our utmost to give people the best of Wensleydale.

“This is a very proud moment in The Wensleydale Experience's history, and I feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing team."

Founded by Jemma Clifford and Anna Price, the Rural Business Awards are judged by an independent panel, drawn from business, the public sector and charitable organisations.

Ms Clifford said: “The judges had a real challenge on their hands when picking the winners and every business shortlisted should be very proud of their achievement of reaching the national final.

“Our winners have all shown great determination and have bright futures ahead – on behalf of everyone at the Rural Business Awards, we congratulate them all.”