The level of care and attention at Hedgehog Corner is so good why bother going abroad, say judges

AN Axminster bed and breakfast business has been praised as “a credit to Devon’s holiday industry”- and a great reason not to go abroad.

Hedgehog Corner, near Raymond’s Hill, picked up the silver award in the guest-accommodation-of-the-year category at the Devon Tourisms awards.

The ceremony at Exeter’s Sandy Park was hosted by TV and radio personality Judi Spiers who said the two finalists in this section had “stood out head and shoulders above other entries”.

She said the Judges had found Hedgehog Corner to be : “An exceptionally well-run business and one that does credit to the industry in the South West. If all our hospitality businesses were run with this level of care, attention and love no-one would bother venturing abroad.”

Sarah Crook, of Axminster TIC, accompanied owner Joy Raymond and Manager Tara Dare with their partners to the awards evening.

She said: “It was a wonderful celebration of excellence and a great reward for terrific hard work. We really enjoyed ourselves.”

Joy Raymond said: “For me this was all about Tara. She has been taking various hospitality qualifications here at Hedgehog Corner. I entered the B and B to see how far we could get in this rigorous and long drawn out selection process. I wanted to show her that with persistence, drive and determination anything is possible – even for a small business such as ours.

“I am particularly grateful for the kind words of support from other local accommodation providers.”