Kearton Country Hotel & Tearooms, Thwaite, Richmond, DL11 6DR

In parts dating back to the 1600s, The Kearton Country Hotel is a beautiful stone building, in keeping with Thwaite and other towns and villages across the National Park. To the rear, the building has been extended in a more contemporary style to provide further letting rooms and trading floor space.

The pretty village of Thwaite is located at the end of the famous Buttertubs Pass between the towns of Reeth, Hawes and Kirkby Stephen, in the northern part of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park. The area is a haven for cyclists, walkers, day visitors and holiday makers who are attracted to the region by the stunning scenery, peaceful surroundings and quaint stone villages which are in abundance. The Lake District National Park is also close by, as is the North Pennines and The Forest of Bowland, both accredited as being Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

On the ground floor there is the Tearoom which comprises a trading counter and small gift shop area, with ample and spacious seating areas and full height patio doors providing a lovely outlook across the beer garden and stunning fell views.

This area is also used as the restaurant and breakfast areas if and when required and it is serviced by an excellent catering kitchen with a very good range of heating, cooking, cooling and washing appliances, all of which are included in the sale.

Also on the ground floor is a small bar with servery, a spacious “L” shaped lounge with lovely cast iron stove set in a stone Inglenook fireplace and an alcove area to the rear, ideal for private dining. Finally on this floor, there is an office and customer toilets.

The letting accommodation is all arranged across the first floor and comprise two self-contained apartments and six en suite bedrooms.

The hotel previously had 12 bedrooms however the current owners altered the layout to provide greater flexibility in their room stock and also to capture the increasing demand for self-contained apartments as well as providing comfortable and private living space for themselves and any future owners.

The Buttertubs apartment comprises two en suite double bedrooms, a fitted kitchen and sitting room, whilst The Shunner Fell apartment has one large double en suite bedroom and a lounge/kitchen/dining room.

There are also five double and one single en suite letting bedrooms.

To the front of the building is a small patio terrace ideal for drinkers and diners, whilst at the rear is the ample car parking for up to 20 cars and a lovely lawned beer garden with picnic benches and glorious views down Swaledale and, in particular, of Kisdon, a huge fell which towers over the village and which forms a stunning backdrop to the hotel.

This is ideal for a buyer who wishes to purchase a hospitality business in a truly beautiful part of the world. At present our clients operate the hotel and tearoom as a lifestyle choice, with opening hours and a business model to suit themselves however, there is excellent scope to increase levels of trade and to alter the very versatile current layout to suit the new owners skill set and ambitions.

Superfast broadband is scheduled to be connected to the village in early 2022, which would not only benefit the hotel through greater business connectivity and an enhanced guest experience, but could also benefit new owners who may wish to work from home should they choose to live on site.


The hotel has excellent reviews, scoring 4.5 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, UK Hotels.com Expedia and Google reviews.

Trading accounts are available on request.

Confirmation of business rates payable should be obtained from the local authority.