A NORTH York Moors holiday home has been named the best National Park property

Owners John Brooks and Lynn Bowler, from Goathland scooped gold in the Best National Park Property category for their unique stone barn conversion, nestled in the North York Moors National Park.

The Long Barn took home the trophy at the Sykes Gem Awards – a national travel awards programme run by leading UK holiday rental firm, Sykes Holiday Cottages.

Before turning their hand to holiday letting, Lynn, a former property lawyer, and John, an ex-firefighter, had spent years gathering inspiration for their own dream holiday home, having stayed in a variety of cottages across the UK.

When searching for the perfect property, Lynn and John spotted potential in The Long Barn, a stone-built barn conversion and fell in love with its rustic charm and spectacular location.

John said: “We’ve put so much into making The Long Barn a success, and constantly get great feedback from our visitors, but an award like this really does mean a lot.

“The trophy will definitely be given pride of place in the cottage.

“We love providing visitors with a home away from home - a chance to escape the hustle and bustle, recharge their batteries and spend quality time catching up with friends and family. .

“Seeing happy, smiling faces enjoying special moments together is really what makes holiday letting worthwhile for us – you just can’t beat it.”

The Sykes Gem Awards celebrate the best people and properties in the UK’s growing holiday cottage sector and were judged by a panel of industry experts including David Shields from Visit Yorkshire.

He said: wards like this one serve to shine a spotlight on the region and the brilliant breaks available here.

“ was blown away by the standard of the entries, so it was tough to choose between them, but Lynn and John and The Long Barn are very deserving winners.”