NHRM awarded VisitEngland Gold Accolade again

The National Horseracing Museum is delighted to announce that it has been awarded the VisitEngland Gold Accolade for the second consecutive year!

One of just four venues in the East of England to be awarded Gold status, and one of 30 in the whole of the country. The 2021-22 Visitor Attraction Accolades were awarded to 97 attractions in total, and were designed to highlight the quality and diversity of visitor experiences on offer across England. To see the full list of attractions to receive VisitEngland’s 2021-22 Visitor Attraction Accolades, click here.

Using a scores-based system referred to as the annual VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme assessments, specific attractions were ranked in a number of different categories, including Welcome, Best Told Story, Quality Food & Drink, Hidden Gem and Gold for overall winners.

This second consecutive Gold Award for the National Horseracing Museum is testament to the hard work of the museum team, including the staff in the Tack Room restaurant and on-site Bakery, the behind-the-scenes team, visitor services, shop and practical gallery teams, and of course the army of dedicated and wonderful volunteers. Each and every one of the supporters, team members and staff are key to the success of the museum and have all contributed towards this fantastic award and should be very proud of this achievement.

Speaking about the latest assessment results, VisitEngland’s Director Andrew Stokes said:

“It’s so exciting to see our brilliant attractions providing outstanding experiences for visitors and to recognise and showcase the variety and quality across the country. England has unmissable visitor attractions and experiences that deliver world-class customer service. They also provide the warmest of welcomes and unforgettable storytelling that connects the whole experience, including retail and food and drink offers that exceed expectations.”

Running since 2014, the annual accolades are available to VisitEngland’s Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme participants across a wide range of tourism experiences in England from museums and galleries, farm attractions, historic houses and gardens to churches, cathedrals and country parks.

To find out more about the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme click here.

About the National Horseracing Museum

The National Horseracing Museum is a 5-acre site in the heart of Newmarket. It comprises three complementary attractions; National Horseracing Museum in the Trainer’s House and King’s Yard Galleries, the Packard Galleries of British Sporting Art in Palace House, and a chance to meet former racehorses in the flagship home of Retraining of Racehorses.

Using the latest interactive and audio-visual displays you can find out about the history of horseracing, plus meet friendly retired racehorses. You’ll also be able to discover what it feels like to ride a racehorse with our famous equine simulator, watch the sparks fly as a farrier works in the forge and enjoy some of the country’s best examples of sporting art.

Why not make a day of it and have lunch in the Tack Room restaurant or enjoy a picnic from the Bakery whilst you’re here?

The Spa Wins The UK’s Best Boutique Spa Award

Cementing their place as one of the UK’s best luxury spa destinations, The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket, is the winner of the Best Boutique Spa award at the prestigious Boutique Hotelier Awards 2022. The Suffolk spa received the highly sought after accolade at a glittering award ceremony on 4thOctober 2022; the award recognises the best hotel spa facility that raises the bar for luxury wellness and focuses on enriching the guest’s journey.

The judges of the award were particularly impressed that The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel had invested a significant amount of time and money into training its staff to offer a more diverse and inclusive treatment menu, such as the Wellness For Cancer Treatment Menu, while always maintaining the highest standard of service.

Eamonn Crowe, Editor at Boutique Hotelier stated: “There has been a lot of dialogue about inclusivity within spas in the hotel industry across the last 12 months and it is a sea change we welcome. The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel has risen to the challenge, training staff to be able to offer services to guests undergoing treatment for cancer or those who are at a post-treatment stage, opening up the spa experience to an even wider audience.”

The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel continues to set new heights for industry by combining exceptional hospitality, forward-thinking treatments and luxury into both the business and their consumer experience. Constantly a step ahead, The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel incorporates innovative treatments into a tranquil environment to provide guests with a memorable, relaxing and refreshing journey of their mind, body and soul.

Celebrating the award, Spa Manager Kate Lake, says: “We are thrilled to have won Best Boutique Spa, we truly believe in providing our guests the gold standard in spa experience and our incredible team makes this possible. From the spa attendants, to the receptionists and the therapists, right through to the marketing and management, the dedication and passion from the whole team makes The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel experience unforgettable. To be recognised for our work to become as inclusive as possible, including our Wellness for Cancer training and dedicated treatment menu, makes it even more special.”

The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel was also recently chosen as one of only four luxury UK Spas to launch the new ESPA Modern Alchemy rituals. Launched at the beginning of October 2022, in collaboration with luxury product house ESPA, the exclusive body treatments take guests on a transformational, sensual journey.

Help Us Find Our Local Heroes

We are searching for two local heroes to turn on Newmarket's Christmas Lights for 2022.

After a fantastic event last year, that saw nominated heroes Ben and Tamara turn on the lights, we want to invite the public to vote for the chosen two this year.
We're looking for individuals that deserve to be recognised for their work during the last twelve months.

Nominations are open between 1st - 21st October 2022, after which nominees will listed on Facebook for our followers to choose from. A final winner will be selected on 31st October.

Please click here to enter your nomination.

Please note, all nominees must be available on Friday 18th November from 6pm for the Lights Switch On event.

20 Years of Morris Armitage

Successfully selling and letting homes since 2002, Morris Armitage has reached an impressive milestone this year. We spoke to the team at Morris Armitage to find out how they plan to celebrate

What is Morris Armitage doing to celebrate its 20th Anniversary?

We’re so proud to be in our 20th year. To celebrate, the team will be spending the day at Newmarket Races - where else would we want to celebrate other than our town’s fabulous racecourse! We are also planning our first staff charity event to take place later this year with a plan for this to become a yearly event.

How has the business changed over the past two years?

We have gone from strength to strength. The last two years have been exceptionally busy and we’re lucky to have a highly experienced team who has taken it all in their stride, making sure that all our clients receive the high levels of service they are used to receiving.

Why did the business decide to relocate to its current address in Newmarket?

As the business expanded, we needed larger premises and were fortunate that this beautiful, historic building in the heart of the town was available to become our permanent home.

Where are the other branches of the business?

We are very lucky to have offices in Downham Market, where the business was born and where James Armitage continues to lead the way in Estate Agency. After opening our offices here in Newmarket - headed up by Simon Morris, the joint Director - the company has since expanded in to Cambridge with a centrally based office and team. We also have our Burwell office serving the ever-popular village of Burwell and the surrounding area.

What is different about Morris Armitage to other estate agents?

Being an independent agent, we have the flexibility to adapt to suit our local market. Our teams are made up of local people who all have excellent knowledge of the area they work in, along with a vast amount of experience within the property sector (our Newmarket office alone has over 100 years of experience between them!!)

Our teams are all long serving within the company so we are well known for our superb local knowledge and our friendly and hardworking team who always has our clients as their priority. This is noticeable with the relationships we have built over the years and the loyalty we receive from our clients.

Morris Armitage, Godolphin House, 2 The Avenue, Newmarket CB8 9AA. Tel: 01638 560221. www.morrisarmitage.co.uk

VACANCY: Business Improvement District Manager

We are looking for a new manager to lead the Business Improvement District (Love Newmarket).

Full details of the role can be found here.

NHRM Awarded Tripadvisors Travellers Choice Award 2022

Every year, Tripadvisor celebrates the various attractions worldwide that consistently deliver amazing experiences. They do this by awarding a prestigious Travellers Choice Award to those venues that meet their strict criteria… and the team at the National Horseracing Museum is proud to announce that this year they have made the list!

This means that the team has earned lots of positive reviews and ratings over the past year, a testament to the hard work that goes on behind-the-scenes from paid staff, keen volunteers and dedicated trustees. Together the team strives to deliver a consistently high level of customer service, a strong visitor experience and just generally, a great day out for all of visitors.

The team would also like to thank all visitors for taking the time to review the National Horseracing Museum on Tripadvisor. Your feedback puts the National Horseracing Museum in the top 10% of attractions worldwide.

To view the NHRM Tripadvisor page and see what everyone is saying, just click here.

A huge congratulations once again to the team - for not only putting the Museum on the map, but also Newmarket as a destination town.