Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and Washington Wildfowl and Wetland Trust given Gold awards by tourist board

The teams behind two of Sunderland's much-loved visitor attractions are celebrating after winning top honours from the national tourist board.

Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust in Washington have both been given a Gold award by VisitEngland in this year's Visitor Attraction Accolades.

The destinations are among four North East visitor attractions honoured in recognition of being all-round top-scoring attractions.

Welcoming the awards, Cllr John Price, Cabinet Member for Vibrant City at Sunderland City Council, said: "It's wonderful to see two of the city's visitor attractions being recognised in this way. "Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens holds a very special place in the hearts of people across our city and beyond as does the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.

"Winning the top Gold award is testament to the dedication and hard work that teams put into making the visitor experience at both attractions the best it can possibly be."

Rebecca Ball, chief executive of Sunderland Culture added: "It is brilliant to hear that two of Sunderland’s Visitor Attractions have achieved the VisitEngland Gold Award. Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust are inspiring places that bring so much to the cultural life of the city, so it is great to see this national recognition for their work."

Work is under way on a transformation for the Museum and Winter Gardens after it was awarded an initial £299,425 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NHLF) earlier this year.

The funding was for the Development Phase of the project, with plans to apply for a full Delivery Phase NHLF grant in 2024

The proposals, which Sunderland City Council said have been shaped by the views of residents and museum visitors, will see major improvements to the popular visitor attraction, making much more of the museum and the visitor, exhibition and collection spaces. Now in their ninth year, VisitEngland’s Visitor Attraction Accolades are available to participants of the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme across a range of tourism attractions from historic houses, gardens, country parks and farm attractions to galleries, museums, churches and cathedrals.

Participating attractions are supported by a network of highly trained and experienced assessors who advise them on improving and promoting the quality, accessibility and sustainability of their offer. 

Winning attractions can display the accolade logo at their attraction, online and in their marketing materials.