Alston House Hotel, Townfoot, Alston, Cumbria

Alston House Hotel occupies a prime trading position at Townfoot in the historic market town of Alston, Cumbria, within the North Pennines and close to the Lake District National Park. Alston is widely recognised as England’s highest market town and is renowned for its attractive stone buildings, cobbled streets and strong appeal to visitors seeking countryside, heritage and outdoor pursuits. The town enjoys good road accessibility despite its picturesque rural setting, with routes via the A686 from Penrith and the M6, together with further links from Carlisle, Newcastle and Durham via the A69 and A689, making it readily accessible from the wider North of England. Local schooling is available within the town, including Alston Primary School and Samuel King’s School.

The property is a substantial and characterful detached hotel of historic origin, understood to date back to the 17th century, and offers an appealing blend of heritage charm and established commercial functionality. The ground floor provides a bright and spacious dining room configured for approximately 70 covers, with capacity to cater for functions of around 100 guests, and enjoying pleasant views over the patio and gardens. From the entrance hall there is also a separate breakfast room for residents together with an additional area formerly utilised as a busy and popular café, which could be readily reinstated should a purchaser wish to expand the daytime offering. A large, exceptionally well-equipped commercial kitchen serves the business, supported by a walk-in fridge room, store and dedicated wash area, making the property well suited for continued hospitality use. Stairs rise to the first floor, where there are six en suite letting bedrooms, all individually decorated and furnished, while the second floor provides a further three en suite rooms, a laundry room and a private one-bedroom owner’s apartment with lounge, kitchen and bathroom. Externally, the hotel benefits from parking to the front and an additional car park on the opposite side of the road, together with enclosed gardens, a terrace and patio with tables and chairs, and mature trees and shrubs, all of which are well maintained.

Alston House is operated as a hotel and restaurant and is offered for sale as a going concern, presenting an excellent opportunity to acquire an established hospitality business with considerable future potential. The current owners have begun to slow the pace of trade in anticipation of retirement, with the business presently closed from 30 January until Easter and thereafter operating on limited weekly opening hours. The average achieved room rate is understood to be £138, and the hotel draws trade from a varied customer base including cyclists travelling the popular C2C route, walkers exploring the Pennine Way, tourists visiting the North Pennines and Lake District fringe, and guests associated with local shooting estates during the season. The business is also used by several travel and activity operators, reflecting its established reputation within the outdoor leisure market. There is clear scope for a new owner to expand the existing operation through longer opening hours, the reinstatement of the former café, enhanced function trade, and the development of weddings and marquee events on the generous lawned grounds, thereby building on an already well-regarded and strategically located enterprise.