A NORTHERN inn group has finalised purchase on its fourth Ambleside site.

The Waterhead Hotel in the lakeside town has been bought by The Inn Collection Group, bringing its portfolio to 22.

The 38-bedroom venue, which has direct shoreline access and private grounds bordering Windermere, will reopen as The Waterhead Inn on May 17 and continue trading before a planned refurbishment in 2022.

The Inn Collection Group’s managing director, Sean Donkin, said: “We are thrilled to have completed on The Waterhead and to be bringing another extraordinary site into the group as we prepare for the expected staycation boom amid surging consumer demand for UK leisure destinations.

“The Waterhead has long been in our sights and we are excited to bring this remarkable venue and its team into The Inn Collection Group family.

“Our customers are looking for experience-led stays and The Waterhead delivers on everything we look for in a site – a distinctive USP and an attractive environment in a winning destination where our guests want to spend their well-earned leisure time to eat, drink and stay with us.”

The Waterhead Hotel acquisition, which was completed in an undisclosed deal, follows the group’s purchase of the neighbouring The Wateredge Inn at Waterhead Bay in March.

Also in Ambleside, the group is carrying out a major refurbishment of the former Churchills inn site which it plans to reopen as The Temperance Inn in August. Its 30-bedroom The Ambleside Inn, located in the centre of Ambleside will reopen on May 17.

Elsewhere in the Lakes, the group owns The Angel Inn at Bowness on Windermere; The Coniston Inn at Coniston; The Swan at Grasmere and The Pheasant at Bassenthwaite.