A West Cumbrian hotel is under new ownership.

John Miller and Pascal Delorme have taken over the Hunday Manor Country House Hotel at Winscales from independent hotelier Joe Wilson.

They have also bought Fredericks Lounge Bar and Restaurant in Cockermouth.

The pair, who are partners in Western Lake District Hotels, have known each other for 25 years thanks to John’s work as an operator for a number of hotels in the area, while Pascal was managing director of wine merchant Grapevine.

John said: “We wanted to come out into West Cumbria and the opportunity came up with Joe wanting to take a step back and sell his business.

“It really is a hidden gem and this is our chance to start a new venture.

“We used to be on opposite sides of the fence and now we’re on the same side.

“We’re learning things about each other every day and we’re still working out what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are.

“At the moment I suppose you could say a foundation is being laid for a happy marriage.

“We feel the scope is there to enhance it because there is potential in West Cumbria that still hasn’t really been tapped into.”

John and Pascal have no immediate plans to make sweeping changes to either business, preferring to make tweaks which develop them.

They have retained most of the staff at Hunday Manor and are being supported by them and organisations like the Rotary Club of Workington while they settle in.

They do plan to overhaul the Hunday Manor menu with a new head chef, as the duo are keen to encourage people to visit for afternoon tea, casual lunches or fancy meals.

The hotel recently underwent a full refurbishment of its dining areas.

John added: “We’d like to bring more activities, entertainment and themed nights, with a big push on the food.

“We’ve got a great kitchen team who are very excited about what we can come up with, both with restaurant food and bar meals.

“We’ve already got very good numbers of regular customers and we’ve been pleased with how welcoming they’ve been with us.

“We’ve also bought Fredericks to see how we can develop that.”

Mr Wilson bought Hunday Manor in 1999 and had previously opened cafe restaurant Napoleons in Cockermouth. Two years later he converted the old fire headquarters on Crown Street into a 13-bedroom hotel.