A HOLIDAY cottage complex near Pickering is on the shortlist for an esteemed regional business award.

Beech Farm Cottages in Wrelton is one of just five businesses in the running for the Best Rural Tourism business for the north of the UK at this year’s Rural Business Awards.

The holiday cottage business changed ownership in July 2017 and the new owners, Graham and Kirsty Kirk, have been revamping and improving the cottages during the last year.

Sleeping up to 45 guests in eight cottages, Beech Farm has been operating since the early 1990s.

The site’s facilities include an indoor heated pool, spa, sauna, children’s playground and farm animals.

Graham said that some guests have been returning for 20 years.

The Rural Business Awards regional winners will be announced on October 9 at a ceremony at the Last Drop Village in Bolton.

This will then be followed by the national grand final on February 28, 2019, where the winners from each category in every region across the country will take part.