A HOTELIER swapped 35 years of crisp cotton sheets and candlelit dinners for a life-changing backpacking adventure.

After 14 years' managing the Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Ann McLean packed her swimsuit and snorkel for Belize's coral reefs.

The 58-year-old has published a light-hearted book about her Central American "journey of discovery" and hopes it will inspire others to "follow their dreams".

Ann's decision to take off came after losing her beloved mother and her dog in 2016. Soon after, she and her business partners took the difficult decision to sell the Stonecross Manor.

" I really felt it was quite a frightening crossroads in my life," she said. "This was my healing process."

Out of the blue, she Googled snorkelling and "up came Belize".

"I didn't really know anything about it, but it's got the second largest barrier reef in the world outside Australia. That's why I decided to go there."

She added: "It sounds like I'm very brave, but I was absolutely terrified and nearly pulled out at the last minute. Once I got on the plane it became a bit more exciting."

After a lifelong career in luxury hotels in Australia, Jersey and Kendal, Ann embarked on a month of no-frills travel - hence the name of her blog, "Bare Hotelier".

In her book - "Belize, A Journey of Discovery, and Some Snorkelling" - she recounts swimming with sharks off the Belize Barrier Reef; sleeping in a tin-roofed wooden shed; freezing with fear atop a Mayan ruin, and discovering the warm generosity of the Belizean people.

Ann completed her book this year on the Greek island of Rhodes, having packed up her Kendal house and fulfilled her dream of becoming a full-time traveller. It has sold 50 copies on Amazon as a paperback and ebook, and the fledgling author is busy planning her second.

"It shows you can have a new life," she said. "You can take a new road. That's really the most important thing; it's never too late to follow your dreams."

For more, see Ann's blog at barehotelier.com