The centuries old Mother Shipton's Cave in Knaresborough has received top recognition from tourism chiefs.
Visit England has given the attraction, which opened in 1630 and is England’s oldest visitor attraction, Quality Assured recognition.
It meant the venue at Prophecy Lodge, High Bridge, Long Walk,gained 88% from Visit England judges, surpassing expectations.
The rating follows a series of constant improvements since Fiona Martin bought the attraction, based around the life of England’s most famous prophetess around 12 years ago.
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The ‘witch’ predicted events such as The Great Fire of England, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the invention of iron ships long before they happened.
Fiona says around £1m has been spent transforming the former run-down site as she ploughed back the profits year-on-year, continually enhancing the visitor experience.
Improvements include better catering, a new playground for children, better landscaping, staging more themes events, erecting new cabins and witches huts, spending more than £100,000 on tipis for Halloween, Christmas and Easter, having more Father Christmasses and resurfacing the site and improving the drainage. It has also invested heavily in new trees and their protection.
Following an extensive review of the attraction, Visit England assessor Ros Walker commented: “These consistently improving scores are a direct reflection of the owner's ambition and commitment, supported by a skilled, passionate and unified team. In the last five years, Mother Shipton's has been transformed.”
The recent scores obtained by Mother Shipton's Cave have also brought the attraction into consideration for the prestigious VisitEngland Welcome Accolade.
It has also meant ever high numbers of visitors with each passing year.
Fiona says her team is acknowledged for maintaining exceptional standards throughout the visit with this nomination.
She said: “We are delighted to have received such tremendous feedback from VisitEngland once again. This nomination reaffirms our commitment to showcasing the wonders of the ancient attraction and inspires us to continue striving for even higher standards. We are honoured to be considered for this prestigious accolade and look forward to the final decision later this year.”
This latest achievement, alongside the team's achievements in various local and regional award schemes, such as a Highly Commended certificate for the "Tourism Award" category at the Harrogate Business Awards 2023, Fiona says, solidifies Mother Shipton's Cave as an outstanding destination for tourists seeking an exceptional visitor experience.
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Looking ahead she says she plans to look more at the pagan side of things, looking at matters such as wholistic well-being and hosting more pagan weddings.
Mother Shipton’s Cave is open every day until the 5th of November (excluding the 26th of June), plus selected dates for Christmas.
The next family activity trail event is ‘Pirates and Mermaids’, running from the 22nd July until the 3rd of September.
The website www.mothershipton.co.uk has details.
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