A hotel in Cumbria, a 71-year old gallery assistant in London and a museum in the north east were all among the winners at the 2005 Enjoy England Excellence Awards.

Now in its 16th year, the awards ceremony was organised by Visit Britain and held at the British Museum in London on 19 April.

The Large Visitor Attraction of the Year award was shared by the Beamish North of England Open Air Museum in Durham and Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard.

Holkham Hall – a 18th century country house in Norfolk – was named the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year.

Staff at the Chesterfield Tourist Information Centre (TIC) celebrated being named the TIC of the year, while the internet site for Lyth Hill House bed and breakfast was awarded the tourism website of the year.

The Hotel of the Year award was given to The Samling in Windermere, which also offers a Michelin-star restaurant.

The Business Tourism award, presented this year for the first time in the awards’ history, was scooped by the Cotswold Conference Centre in Worcestershire.

Ann Stamper, a 71-year-old gallery assistant at London’s National Maritime Museum, received the Outstanding Customer Service Award, while theDuchess Of Northumberland was handed the Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for her work in the development of the 40-acre Alnwick Garden project.

Hugh Taylor, England Marketing Advisory Board’s chair, said: “We are proud to honour the people behind the quality and diversity of England’s tourism product.”