Well, the votes have been counted and verified and the winners of the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards 2014/15 have been announced – drum roll please… And, we’re delighted to announce that we have won the ‘Heritage Site of the Year’ award. What a fantastic start to our Golden Jubilee year!

The Severn Valley Railway was shortlisted as one of the UK’s top historic gems by the BBC’s Countryfile Magazine in January, and has today been crowned the number one Heritage Site in Britain. We were one of five famous UK tourist attractions shortlisted in the ’Heritage Site of the Year’ category, and were up against stiff competition from some of the UK’s most famous tourism hotspots, including London’s Imperial War Museum, Georgian estate Kew Palace, Welsh architectural wonder Portmeirion and the mystical, pre-historic stone circle at Avebury.

The shortlist was chosen by television presenter Jules Hudson, widely recognised as the face of many BBC lifestyle and history series including Escape to the Country, Britain’s Empty Homes, Britain’s Heritage Heroes and, most latterly, Countryfile. A life-long history lover, he praised the SVR’s Heritage Skills Training Academy, one of a range of projects funded by the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust, saying the Railway has a “fantastic conservation element to it, running an apprenticeship scheme for young engineers in order to keep the traditional skills alive” and adding: “Travelling by steam train is also a wonderful way to see the spectacular surrounding countryside.”

Our thanks go out to all working members, shareholders, charitable trust supporters, friends and families that voted for us, this is an outstanding achievement and clearly demonstrates the affection that people have for the Severn Valley Railway. Thank you again to all staff (volunteers and paid) who work so hard so hard to make our Railway the national gem that it is – this really is a feather in the cap for us all.