CROOME Court and its accompanying parkland, now joined together as the National Trust attraction known simply as Croome, has won a top travel award.

The former seat of the Earls of Coventry, which lies in the south Worcestershire countryside just west of Pershore, has been given a 2016 certificate of excellence by TripAdvisor, after being voted for by members of the public.

Amy Forster-Smith, Croome’s house and visitor experience manager, said: "We’re exceptionally proud to receive this award. Croome is proving very popular even with the repair works and the unusual way we present the interior of the mansion house. The last year has been a product of a lot of hard work from the whole team and we’re all very pleased that’s been rewarded. This award is particularly significant as it is based on ratings from the people that are most important to us, our visitors.”

The award is a milestone for the National Trust site as the team is also celebrating an excellent start to the year, on course to welcome more than 200,000 visitors by the end of 2016. TripAdvisor’s certificate of excellence celebrates hospitality excellence and to qualify businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers on TripAdvisor.

Winners of the certificate of excellence are located all over the world and represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website. Croome is open throughout the year. The park and lakeside are open from 10am until 5.30pm and Croome Court is open from 11am to 4.30pm every day.