Champions crowned in Countryside Alliance Awards 2021

After a lot of patience from our regional winners and an incredible amount of hard work and tough decision making behind the scenes here at the Countryside Alliance, last night we premiered our Countryside Alliance Awards Champions' Ceremony on our Facebook page.

After whittling down over 18,000 nominations - our most successful year to date and a reflection on the growing number of fantastic businesses in rural areas – and a delayed judging process, we have announced this year's Champions as well as those who received the Highly Commended award for each category. You can view all our Champions and Highly Commended winners here.

For many, it has been a challenging journey over the past 18 months, so it is a huge triumph and credit to those businesses who made it as far as the regional finalists. Don't forget to take a look at our regional finalists' interactive map here to see if any businesses in your local area were recognised. These awards provide a cause for celebration, and we can't thank you – the businesses and their supporters – enough for being part of them.

The secret to the Rural Oscars' popularity is that they honour the people who work hard to keep our communities and rural economy ticking, but don't necessarily seek out the spotlight. These Awards would not be possible without the support from you. The dedication and drive of these businesses - whether that is serving their community, their commitment to animal welfare and local produce or their passion for enhancing the environment – is truly inspiring.

The 2022 Awards will be kicking off in the Autumn and we're looking forward to continuing this celebration of rural businesses and enterprise that the Countryside Alliance Awards stands for.