The co-director of a landmark Lake District hotel that has been put up for sale for the first time in half a century has been reflecting on the wonderful memories he has enjoyed there.
Miles Jessop bought the Scafell Hotel at Rosthwaite, in the Borrowdale Valley, 52 years ago in 1971 from the Badrock family who had previously run it for 47 years.
“When I went there I was only 29 and for older people to accept a younger person taking over the hotel was so amazing,” he said. “Some wonderful friendships grew out of that and it was a tremendous bonding between ourselves.”
The hotel has been put on the market by real estate advisors Colliers with offers in the region of £2.75 million being sought.
Mr Jessop’s decision to retire has partly been influenced by the health of co-director Andrew Nelson who has been battling bowel cancer for the past 18 months.
“It’s a very sad occasion but you have just got to face up to retirement,” said Mr Jessop, who visits the hotel on a weekly basis from his home in Grasmere.
“Whoever takes it on, I will offer all my help and assistance to them.
“Unfortunately it did leak out that the hotel was up for sale and Andrew and myself felt very guilty that we were not able to tell the staff ourselves,” he said. “It’s important for them to realise that we both felt very upset that we were not able to tell them personally.”
Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency Colliers, is handling the sale of the former 18th century coaching inn.
The hotel was built originally as a private residence for the artist Mary Barker who is one of the first women on record to scale nearby Scafell Pike alongside William Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy.
The property sits in around five acres of grounds with 23 en suite bedrooms, a 60-cover restaurant, lounges, and self-contained Riverside Bar with seating for 50. There is also ample parking on site.
The hotel has a backdrop of Lakeland fells including Great Gable, Dale Head, High Spy, Scafell Pike and Great End and that is a particular attraction to seasoned walkers. Its close proximity to the banks of the River Derwent, appeal equally to those seeking a gentler stroll. There is scope for the establishment of four glamping pods within the paddock, as part of the inn’s substantial grounds which extends to almost five acres.
Mr Troup said: “The Scafell Hotel is a very well-known Lakeland trading hospitality business that we believe will attract significant interest.”
Celebrating 50 years at the hotel in 2021, Mr Jessop recalled the great mix of guests that had visited the hotel over the years.
He recounted an incident when he took a party of American tourists, all members of the Appalachian Mountain Club, to the top of Scafell Pike where a waiter in full livery served them champagne.
He also met film star Mel Gibson who was in the area doing some research on the west coast for a movie called The Bounty about the famous mutiny.
Mr Jessop was introduced to the actor by the film’s director but admitted that he did not know who he was!
But that did not stop him getting into a conversation with the Hollywood star and showed him pictures of Pitcairn Island — where mutiny leader Lt Fletcher Christian ended up — as Mr Jessop had recently sailed close to it.
But one of the hotel’s most famous guests was scientist and engineer Sir Barnes Wallis, best known for inventing the bouncing bomb, who visited for more than 52 years with his family.
Whenever he came he insisted on a large table to be in his room on which he could carry on with his engineering design work when the weather was inclement.
“To commemorate this we made a suite in the hotel named after him, and this was completed in 2008 along with further refurbishments of other rooms in the hotel,” said Mr Jessop. “To celebrate this we had a fly by of a Tornado GR4 from 617 Squadron based at RAF Leuchars using this as part of their training programme.”
The hotel has also had royal visitors including King Charles III stopping off at the Riverside Bar on one of his trips to the area and the late Duke of Edinburgh presenting prizes in 2001 to runners who had participated in the gruelling Borrowdale Fell Race, which has a long association with the hostelry.
