William’s Den, the popular Yorkshire children’s attraction, has been short-listed in two categories in the prestigious Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Awards (REYTAs) 2022.
The awards, the Oscars of the East Yorkshire tourism industry, will be held at a glittering dinner on Thursday November 10 at Bridlington Spa.
William’s Den, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, is situated in North Cave, near Brough, in East Yorkshire and is owned and run by Tor and Christian Carver.
The attraction has been nominated in both the Remarkable Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism and the Remarkable Visitor Attraction of the Year categories.
The Carvers were “absolutely delighted and extremely proud” that they have been nominated in the two award categories.
The awards are organised are organised by Visit Hull and East Yorkshire to recognise the significance of tourism to this area and celebrate the quality of businesses and individuals working within it. Now in its 12th year, the REYTAs has 16 awards over a wide range of categories for the very best tourism businesses in the region.
Councillor Jane Evison, portfolio holder for economic investment, growth and tourism at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "It is fantastic that the REYTAs will return in person in 2022 and it will be a fantastic opportunity to commend and give recognition to all the tourism business in the region which have worked hard to recover and bounce back following a difficult couple of years for business.
“We have seen our businesses adapt fantastically well and these awards give us all the perfect opportunity to share our experiences and show our appreciation to our brilliant tourism businesses,” she added.
Tor Carver commented: “This fantastic endorsement of William’s Den left us overwhelmed and very proud. It is also a fantastic tribute to our loyal and hard-working staff. This is a team effort.”
“It comes as our 2022 autumn season enters its final phase with our special Halloween half term next week, which features freaky food, pumpkin picking, fancy dress competitions and much, much more. Everyone is welcome.”
Tor explained that the William’s Den adventure began in 2017.
“The idea for creating an exciting and unique visitor attraction really came from hosting birthday parties for our son William in our garden and hearing the shrieks of joy from his friends as they relished the freedom and space to play outside. They never wanted to go home. An idea was born.
“Both my husband Christian and I had grown up on farms and we both remember rather nostalgically having vast amounts of freedom to play outside in all weathers, for hours on end. Along with siblings, cousins and friends, our childhood years were spent endlessly exploring on foot and by bike, building dens and using our wild imaginations to entertain each other for hours and days.
“When we were sharing ideas for the type of family visitor attraction we wanted to create, our own childhood experiences were never far from the surface. It became abundantly clear that we had to create an environment for children to play inside and out whatever the weather, where they could run wild and experience the freedom to roam, and while the kids were doing that, we wanted the grown-ups to enjoy being outdoors with their children and appreciate everything else on offer,” explained Tor.
She added: “It’s been hard work, especially when the global pandemic struck, but we have remained true to our dream. Being nominated for prestigious awards like these makes everything worthwhile.”
For further information about opening times and prices for Halloween Half Term, please ring 01430 472230, email hello@williamsden.co.uk or visit www.williamsden.co.uk
