Prestigious award for Delgatie
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A castle near Turriff has been crowned as the best tourist attraction in the north-east at the recent Aberdeen And Shire Tourism Awards.
Delgatie Castle, situated just off the A947, was awarded the Best Visitor Attraction award at the awards ceremony in Aberdeen's Chester Hotel at the weekend.
The team at the castle were listed as finalists in the category alongside Trump Scotland and BrewDog DogTap DogWalk (brewery tour), and were thrilled to walk away with the title.
Now in their fifth year, the awards celebrate the best of the best within the north-east's tourism industry.
The castle itself dates back to 1030, and this year the castle has been celebrating 25 years of being open to the public.
Overwhelmed with their success, Delgatie Castle's Joan Johnson said: "It's amazing.
"Winning this really has been the icing on the cake of our 25th year.
"We were up against BrewDog and Trump's company - we have to raise all the money to keep this place going ourselves.
"It was really nice to see so many small places being recognised and winning at the awards.
"It's a lot of work [to run the castle] but people are always so kind and everyone always seems to enjoy their visit, so it is worth it."
As part of the judging process the castle was visited by a 'blind shopper' - that is, somebody who visited the castle undercover as a tourist to experience the attraction as genuinely as possible.
After the award was presented the judge came to speak to the Delgatie team, and Joan said: "The judges comments were so kind.
"She said that she felt like part of the family as soon as she stepped through the door."
Upcoming events at Delgatie Castle include the ever popular Victorian Christmas, which will take place this weekend (November 30 and December 1) and next weekend (December 7 and 8), as well as a ladies and gentlemen's shopping day tomorrow (Friday) between 10am-4pm.
The other awards were presented on the night as follows:-
Most Hospitable Hotel - Fife Arms Hotel, Braemar.
Most Hospitable Guest House - Lys-na-Greyne, Aboyne.
Best Self-Catering Accommodation - Seafront Cottages, Sandhaven.
Best Bar - The Tippling House, Aberdeen.
Working Together For Tourism - Aberdeen Internation Airport Northern Lights Lounge and its food and drink suppliers.
Innovation In Tourism - The Gordon Highlanders Museum.
Regional Rising Star - Leonora Brebner, Sandman Signature Hotel.
Regional Ambassador - Lynda McGuigan, Discover Fraserburgh Tourism Group.
Best Cultural Event - The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival.
Best Heritage Tourism Experience - Grampian Escapes And Tours.
Best Restaurat Experience - Signature Food Festival, Chester Hotel.
Best Informal Eating Experience - Davron Hotel, Rosehearty.
