Staff at Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway are over the moon after it was nominated in the Cumbria Tourism Awards 2023 – widely regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the regional tourism industry.
Affectionately known as La’al Ratty, Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway has been shortlisted in the final three in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category, with the final result set to be revealed at a VIP ceremony in July.
The Cumbria Tourism Awards celebrate the very best of Lake District, Cumbria - one of the UK’s best-known visitor destinations nationally and internationally.
The news comes hot on the heels of the railway being shortlisted in the highly sought-after ‘Railway of the Year’ category at the HRA Annual Awards.
Rachel Bell, Head of Marketing & Business Development at Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, says: "The Lake District, Cumbria has a wealth of world-class visitor attractions, so we are thrilled that our iconic heritage railway is being given the recognition it so richly deserves!
“It’s a great tribute to the hard work our staff put in day in, day out to maintain these historic engines and give our visitors the best experience possible. We look forward to finding out the final results later this summer.”
The latest nomination also comes ahead of a spectacular ‘Anniversary Gala’ Weekend’ over the May Day Bank Holiday, to mark 100 years of historic steam locomotive ‘River Esk’.
The event will include a display of resident steam and diesel engines, signal box tours and other special ‘behind the scenes’ experiences for passengers over the three-day weekend: Saturday 29 April to Monday 1 May. There will also be one, two and three-day ‘rover tickets’ available enabling passengers to hop on and off the different trains.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
For further information, contact: Heather Sewell, hsewell@cumbriatourism.org / 07795 487003.
Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway is a family-owned business operating one of the oldest and longest narrow-gauge railways in England, on the Western Coast of the Lake District. Affectionately known as La’al Ratty, the railway is surrounded by stunning views and walks and is based in Ravenglass, the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park.
