DARTMOOR National Park has had a golden 2015/16 with top awards going to its popular visitor centres.

In an award ceremony held recently, Dartmoor National Park visitor centres were awarded gold in the 2015/16 Devon Tourism Awards. The centres at Princetown, Postbridge and Haytor scooped the golden award in the tourism information category.

The awards celebrate Devon’s finest establishments with winners going through a three-stage judging process, including assessment of their websites, mystery visits and an independent judging panel.

About the national park visitor centres, the judges commented: ‘The team made me feel I wanted to visit and experience the magic of Dartmoor.’

Chairman of the awards panel David Fursdon said: ‘I know how important the tourist industry is to Devon. The wonderful reputation that this very special county enjoys in this area depends on maintaining the highest standards and this year’s winners across a wide range of categories illustrate just that and personify one word — excellence.’

Richard Drysdale, visitor services manager for Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: ‘We were delighted to receive this recognition, which is due reward to the teams at the three visitor centres for their knowledge, professionalism and hard work. The centres welcome 180,000 people annually and we strive to ensure that each and every visitor comes away appreciating what makes Dartmoor and Devon such an excellent place to visit and enjoy responsibly.’