Six awards in one week: Ad Gefrin scoops Gold for Best New Tourism Business Of The Year at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence

Thursday 5th June: Last night, Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery was awarded Gold for Best New Tourism Business of the Year at the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2025. This triumphant national recognition as one of the UK’s most exciting and culturally significant new visitor destinations follows five prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award wins last week, taking Ad Gefrin’s total tally of awards and accolades to 19.

A comment from VisitEngland on Ad Gefrin’s 2025 award: “The judges loved the storytelling, the sustainability features and the packaging of an immersive and historical English whisky tour as a must-see tourist destination.”

In 2025 alone, Ad Gefrin has won North East Tourism Awards for Best New Tourism Business – Gold - and a Silver award for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – alongside a staggering five awards from RIBA North East including: Building of the Year, Client of the Year, Regional Award of the Year, Project Architect of the Year and Sustainability Award of Year. With national honours now secured, Ad Gefrin continues to put Northumberland - and Wooler - firmly on the map with its exceptional contribution to the region’s cultural, tourism, design and culinary offering.

Commenting on the award, Eileen Ferguson, “I am absolutely overwhelmed. It has been an emotional journey, and to receive this recognition for all that we have achieved – as a team – is extraordinarily special. We set out to create a world-class visitor destination for North Northumberland, but even more so one that would make our home community of Wooler proud. We wanted to create jobs and stimulate the visitor economy for our very special part of the world. This award recognizes what has been achieved so far by our amazing team. This is only just the beginning, with our Ad Gefrin Single Malt release on the horizon after next year, we hope we can put Wooler on the world stage.”

Located in the heart of Anglo Saxon England, Ad Gefrin opened its doors in March 2023 following a £16 million investment. In just over two years, it has attracted 150,000 visitors,

with 65,000 in its first year, 74,000 in its second, and just over 12,000 visitors since March 2025 alone.

As Ad Gefrin moves into its third season, it continues to grow as both a cultural landmark and a visitor attraction with a busy events programme drawing on the ancient Anglo-Saxon traditions that followed nature’s rhythm and the seasons of Midsomer (Midsummer), Lammas (Harvest) and Yule. As such, Ad Gefrin’s tapestry of events and partnerships offers an immersive experience of Anglo-Saxon culture