Enterprise Inns has snapped up the food-led Hunter’s Moon freehouse in the rural Dorset hamlet of Middlemarch.

The 18th-century inn, which sits on the A352 Dorchester to Sherborne road on the edge of the Blackmoor Vale, makes 70% of its sales from food.

The seaside destinations of Lulworth Cove, Weymouth, and Lyme Regis are all within easy reach.

It was acquired as a shell in 2001 by Brendan Malone, who has since invested more than £300,000 in its sympathetic restoration by local craftsmen. Period details include quarry tiled floors, exposed beams and an inglenook fireplace.

Along with three character bars, the business comprises a 26-seat restaurant, eight en-suite letting bedrooms built from the old converted stables, skittle alley and log store, and four-bedroom owners’ accommodation.

The Winchester office of Christie + Co sold the freehold off a guide price of £895,000.

By Angela Frewin