Alton Towers, the Eden Project and Edinburgh Castle have been named among the winners at this year's British Travel Awards (BTA), which were revealed in London on 2 November.

More than 1,000 representatives from the hospitality, travel and attractions sector attended a gala dinner at Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park for this year's awards ceremony.

Staffordshire's Alton Towers was awarded Best UK Theme Park, holding off fellow Merlin Entertainments-operated attractions Legoland Windsor and Thorpe Park, Surrey.

The Eden Project, Cornwall was named Best UK Leisure Attraction, with London's Natural History Museum and the London Eye receiving the silver and bronze awards respectively.

Elsewhere, Edinburgh Castle was crowned Best UK Heritage Attraction ahead of Durham's Beamish Museum and the National Railway Museum in York.

Other award winners included Cornwall (Best UK Holiday County or Region) and Premier Inn (Hotel Chain of the Year, Best Leisure Hotel Chain and Best Business Hotel Chain).

enjoyengland.com was named the Best National Tourist Board website and Tripadvisor was awarded the Best Travel and Tourism Smartphone App accolade.

Overseas award winners include Disneyland, Florida, US, for Best Worldwide Theme Park; St Moritz, Switerland (Best European Ski Resort); and Aspen, US (Best Americas Ski Resort).

BTA chief executive Lorraine Barnes Burton said: "The winning accolades are the benchmark for excellence when it comes to finding out who really is the best in the business of travel for the UK consumer."

Details: www.britishtravelawards.com

Image: Alton Towers was named Best UK Theme Park – Kadellar