Centuries-old inn reopens after refurbishment
Stu TaylorA centuries-old pub, which is also one of England's highest, has reopened with its new management team saying they have been working hard to preserve its "heritage" and "character".
The Kirkstone Pass Inn is 1,480ft (450m) above sea level on an exposed hillside near Ambleside in the Lake District.
After being closed for the last five years, Kirkby Lonsdale Brewery has taken on the leasehold for the bar and began welcoming people last week.
Brewery owner and director Stu Taylor said "a lot of elbow grease" had helped get the premises ready over a six-week period.
Early feedback, he added, had been "positive".
"There's a lot of interest around the inn - lots of passion. We've met a few locals who live either side of the hill who said they'd missed it.
"There's a group of us who got stuck in and it's been good discovering things along the way and learning about the history of the place.
"It's about 500 years old, so the key was to keep a lot of the character and as much heritage as possible. I'm really proud of what we've achieved."
While Storm Dave's strong winds forced time to be called early last Saturday, Taylor said such events were likely to be "part of the fun" of running a venue in an unusual location.
With its steep gradient, Kirkstone Pass runs between Ambleside and Patterdale and is known locally as "the struggle".
Party house worries
The pub is part of a building put on the market in 2021 and bought by a company called Supreme Escapes, which renovated existing rooms and turned a keeper's house turned into holiday lets.
Online advertising describing that part of the site as being "perfect for stag weekends" led to fears it would be marketed as a "Hollywood movie Wolf of Wall Street" party house.
However, Jerry Huppert, a partner in Supreme Escapes, last year moved to play down those concerns when he spoke to BBC Cumbria.
In June, the Lake District National Park Authority said it recognised concerns about "potential loss of historic character" following the renovation of the accommodation areas.
An investigation into whether there had been any breach of planning regulations was opened.
The authority's planning manager, Julie Birkett, this week confirmed that probe is continuing.
