It is now less than a week until the winners are revealed for the Visit Herefordshire and Visit Worcestershire Awards for Excellence, which will be held on Tuesday, September 20th at Eastnor Castle.

60 finalists were annouced in August for ten categories, with the two counties‘ finest Guest Houses, Self Catering accommodation, Festivals & Events and Food Producers competing to be named the best in their category for their county. Several Ross-on-Wye businesses and groups are among the finalists, including Made in Ross and Wilton Court.

Judges have been working hard for the last six weeks to decide which finalists will become this year’s winners, driving across the whole of the two counties to visit accommodation providers, sample food and ask the owners the essential questions.

With more entries received this year than ever before, 2016 has been a difficult year to judge, with some businesses winning their category by only one point.

All finalists have been invited to the Awards Ceremony at Eastnor Castle.

The winners and Highly Commended will be revealed in the grandeur of the Castle’s Great Hall, where the 60 foot high ceiling will provide a stunning backdrop for over 120 guests.

The finalists will enjoy drinks and cake on arrival, as well as hearing from Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, and Nigel Huddleston, MP for Mid Worcestershire and Member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Ozan Pakyuz of SimpliWiFi, sponsor of the Best Festival & Events (Commercial) category, said: “We are very excited to see the return of the Herefordshire Awards for Excellence. Any chance to showcase the expertise and entrepreneurship of businesses and organisations within the county can only be a good thing and we are very proud to support this.”

Emma Wheeler, Tourism Officer at Visit Worcestershire, said: “We are so grateful to the businesses supporting these awards and helping to make them happen. Many of the judges have been involved in deciding the winners of each category and it has opened their eyes to how much quality and variety the two counties have to offer. This year has seen such a wonderful range of finalists to choose from: I am sure that some of our winners will be successful at the National Awards and go on to represent the two counties at the 2017 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.”

To view a full list of finalists for the Awards, visit www.visitworcestershire.org/awards or www.visitherefordshire.co.uk/awards. The winners will be listed online after the event.