The Stoneybeck Inn, a country freehouse at Bowscar in Cumbria with extensive planning permission to expand, has been bought by Ges Ratcliffe, a resident of nearby Penrith.
 
The inn, which has an excellent trading position on the roundabout of the A6 – an old arterial route through Northern England to Scotland – was sold without advertising in its first week of marketing.

It lies within the heart of the tourist countryside in the Eden Valley just a few miles from the Lake District National Park and Ullswater.
 
Stoneybeck offers a bar/games room with an Eden red stone fireplace, a 50-seat main bar and lounge with an Eden red stone wall and beamed ceilings, and a 36-seat dining room.

There is also an owners’ apartment with three double bedrooms.

The previous owners have gained consent to build 16 bedrooms, a 350-capacity function suite, new kitchens and 12 holiday letting cottages. The first two cottages to be built have been used as a four-bedroom owners’ home but can easily convert back into separate cottages.

The three-acre grounds incorporate a beer garden, children’s play area, parking, and an eight-pitch touring caravan site with electric points and toilet/shower block.

The Manchester office of Colliers Robert Barry sold the freehold off a guide price of £935,000 on behalf of David and Sam Nayar.

By Angela Frewin