Devon’s oldest visitor attraction at Kents Cavern in Torquay is celebrating after being presented with not one but three Gold excellence awards and crowned the overall Winner of Winners at the prestigious 2019 English Riviera Tourism Awards at the Imperial Hotel last night (3 October 2019).   

The prehistoric cave attraction has been welcoming visitors since 1880 and is run by Nick Powe, fifth generation custodian at Britain’s most important cave site.  Kents Cavern, listed by UNESCO as an archaeological site of international significance within Torbay’s Global Geopark, picked up Gold for Visit Attraction of the Year, Access and Inclusivity and International & Inbound Tourism. 

Nick Powe said:

It is truly a great honour and privilege for us to receive these awards.  Like all the people attending last night the team here has a passion for delivering amazing experiences and create memories.  The pop-up underground film festival we ran in the summer was a fantastic example, the Stone Age School and Shakespeare’s The Tempest Underground starting again next month, all experiences that visitors to Devon are probably not expecting but exactly what today’s World traveller is looking for.

We’re over the first hurdle. Getting shortlisted for the VisitDevon awards is up next but our sights are firmly set on the regional and hopefully the national awards, something we haven’t achieved since 2013 when we won a VisitEngland Excellence Award.”

Carolyn Custerson, Chief Executive of the English Riviera BID Company said:

“Last night was all about celebrating local excellence and we certainly did that.  Where else can visitors watch a film underground, kayak around 400 million year old rocks, relax in a spa and enjoy some of the finest quality seafood in Britain. The English Riviera is certainly a world class seaside resort and Kents Cavern is part of what makes it so.”

Download the full press release here.