An award-winning Cumbrian restaurant with rooms has undertaken a series of improvements to its services and facilities following investment from The Cumberland.
Perched 1,000ft up in the Whinlatter Forest above Keswick in the northern Lake District, The Cottage in the Wood is a unique Michelin-listed restaurant with rooms combining Chef Sam Miller’s creative cooking, boutique-style hotel rooms, and a warm welcome in a stunning natural setting.
The beautiful venue, which dates back to 1646 and boasts panoramic views over the Northern Fells, is renowned for its exquisite dining, with the restaurant with rooms being listed in the top 100 restaurants in the UK by the National Restaurant Awards, as well as being voted one of the UK’s Top 50 Boutique Hotels.
With the help of a £50,000 investment from The Cumberland, The Cottage in the Wood has grown its capability to meet increased demand for its services, becoming a driving force for Cumbria’s tourism sector.
The 17th century coaching inn was bought by former teachers Kath and Liam Berney in 2002, and has since been transformed into one of Cumbria’s leading restaurants with rooms.
With Kath and Liam now looking forward to retirement, The Cottage in the Wood is now for sale on the market for £1.25 million, with its owners keen to ensure the business is passed on to those who will continue to build its reputation.
With the restaurant holding 30-seats for diners and the hotel hosting nine rooms for guests, both Kath and Liam were keen to ensure The Cottage continued to go from strength-to-strength while it was on the market.
Following lockdown, Kath and Liam found demand for The Cottage remained high, however staff and supply shortages meant they were unable to take full advantage of their popularity.
The Cumberland worked closely with the Cottage in the Wood to identify the key issues they were facing, providing an in-depth analysis into potential situations which would help owners Kath and Liam take advantage of the business’ strengths.
An investment package was agreed which resulted in a reduction to their monthly payments of 40 percent, freeing up finances and allowing The Cottage in the Wood to recruit more staff to help meet increased demand.
This started with Sam Miller who joined as Head Chef in August 2022, after previously working in some of Europe’s top restaurants, including renowned Copenhagen restaurant, Noma, which was consistently voted the world’s best restaurant during that period.
The Cottage is not only recognised for its service and quality, but also its commitment to the local economy; the venue places an onus on sourcing its produce from local suppliers which has helped boost businesses in the surrounding area. As well as this, The Cottage uses a natural local water source for its supply of water.
Kath and Liam Berney, owners, said: “When we founded The Cottage in the Wood, the guest house was run down but we knew just how much it had to offer. Its location is simply beautiful, and we knew we had found something really special, so we wanted to place it at the heart of the local community.
“Following the COVID-19 lockdowns, we realised that we had so much potential to further grow our offering, bring in more visitors to the area and help boost the local economy. The Cumberland were fantastic in helping us to realise this potential.
“They sat down with us, took an in-depth look at our books, and created a plan which would help us take advantage of the huge uptake in demand we were seeing. As a result we’ve been able to expand our team, our services, and grow our suppliers to ensure we can cater to everyone.”
Ian Craig, Senior Commercial Manager at The Cumberland said: “With The Cottage in the Wood being at the heart of our local community, we are eager to see them flourish in everything that they do.
“We’ve built a strong relationship with The Cottage in the Wood over the years, and we’re pleased to say the plan we agreed with them has helped them to expand their offering. As an iconic venue in Cumbria, it means a huge amount to The Cumberland to be able to help and support them.”