Askham Hall owners buy second Cumbria pub
The owners of Askham Hall in Cumbria have bought a 17th century village pub as part of a vision to create a ‘health and wellbeing hub' in the Lake District.
The Queen's Head in Askham is set to reopen under the ownership of Charles Lowther following a refurbishment, which is already underway.
It is the second pub to be acquired by the owners of Askham Hall, who also run the George and Dragon in Clifton near Penrith.
The bedrooms in the newly acquired Queen's Head will be modelled on similar principles to Askham Hall ,while the pub itself will remain a focus of the local community, with prices kept at an affordable local level, according to its new owners. Meals will be cooked using produce from the kitchen gardens at the three-AA-rosette-rated Askham Hall and the estate's farms.
Lowther, who is the son of Lady Lonsdale to whom Askham Hall was home before his sister Marie-Louisa turned it into a small hotel, said: "We now want to transform the Queen's Head by linking it with nature and Askham Hall as part of an innovative new health and wellbeing concept, which will strengthen the area's visitor economy, as well as increasing bedroom stock locally."
He hopes to link the pub up with a newly established ‘Health Barn' in an 18th century rustic barn nearby, which offers a range of therapeutic and relaxation treatments and workshops, including a state-of-the-art flotation tank, which will reportedly be the only one of its kind in Cumbria.
Lowther said: "Askham has a huge range of family friendly and accessible recreational routes extending from it, as well as challenging adventurous terrain for the more intrepid - it really is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts of all levels. By working closely with the new Health Barn, we will also be promoting a series of courses that embrace broad principles of well-being in an awe-inspiring landscape away from the more traditionally tourist-orientated parts of the Lake District."
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