A WELL-established Kendal business has shut up shop for the final time and the owner is heading for fresh fields.

North Country Crystal has traded on Kirkland for 25 years, but owner Neil Yates has decided the time has come to seek a new challenge.

He is selling the shop premises and is relocating to the Lakes Glass Centre in Ulverston, working as resident glass engraver for Cumbria Crystal from March.

The wheel has come full circle for the specialist glass and crystal outlet, which started off selling Cumbria Crystal products when it was originally opened by Neil's parent, Norman and Margaret Yates, back in 1980.

Neil took over the helm in the 1990s, when he combined the business with his own glass engraving workshop based behind the shop, and he has since expanded to the product range, including collectables and sculpture.

He said there were various reasons behind the closure decision, including a drop in footfall on Kirkland, especially since the Booths store moved further up Kendal's main street, as well as ongoing parking and traffic problems in the town.

But he added: "It's also a lifestyle decision. I have worked six days a week since I left school at 16. Retailing is a big commitment, and I felt it was time for a change."

He told Business Gazette some of the recipients of christening gifts that he engraved more than 20 years ago were now married with children of their own.

Over the years, he has engraved some 125,000 items, with some heading to all corners of the globe. Owners of Neil's work include Margaret Thatcher and former Soviet Union president Mikael Gorbachev, as well as numerous ambassadors, princes, heads of state, bishops and knights of the realm.

Only recently, he has been busy working on a large order for a member of the royal family, although a confidentiality clause prevents him from naming the client.

Neil said many people had been shocked to discover he was closing down the business and he had received a lot of support from customers.

In addition to his new role at Cumbria Crystal, he plans to continue trading through his website (www.northcountry crystal.co.uk), which has generated engraving orders from all over the world.