The 2018 BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards have been announced, with nearly 180,000 votes being cast by readers, which created a whole range of new candidates for each category, including Best Country Pub, Garden of the Year and Holiday Destination of the Year.

Everyone here at SunriseDirect were particularly pleased to see a Norfolk beach was named the Beach of the Year! Holkham was a clear winner in this category, thanks to its miles of sandy beach and unique collection of nature.

Holkham is a nature reserve as well as a beach, creating a haven for wildlife like peregrines, great white egrets, common terns, ringed plover, dark green fritillary butterflies and ghost swift moths.

It’s quite a famous beach too, having featured in Shakespeare in Love with Gywneth Paltrow walking down the sandy shores. The incredible Holkham Hall has also starred in many films and television shows, including The Duchess, All the Kings Men and Kingdom.

Best Holiday Destination

As East Anglia’s favourite coach holiday company, we love to see which destinations are winning awards, so seeing the Pembrokeshire Coast win the Holiday Destination of the Year Award is fantastic, especially as we have plenty of holidays heading to this wonderful part of the country.

It is a location of great natural beauty and is rife with marine life just a short boat ride out to see. Dolphins, porpoises, whales and seals can be spotted on these wild coastlines, as well as colourful puffins.

Pembrokeshire is surrounded by sea, with no point being more than 14 miles from the coast, and the plethora of natural attractions keeps tourists coming back year after year.

Pembrokeshire just pipped the Isle of Wight to the top spot.

Other awards to note are National Park of the Year, won by Northumberland, Garden of the Year, won by Lost Gardens of Heligan and Country Pub of the Year, won by The Fox in Longshaw, South Yorkshire.