The owners of Patterdale Village Store and Post Office are selling the business after 14 years.

Gillian Beggs, who runs the Eden-based PO with her partner Tom Driscoll (and their cat Charley) said: "It's bittersweet. We have made an awful lot of friends and become very much a part of the community. But while we're still healthy, it's time to get out and do other things really."

Since the pair moved to the village of Patterdale from Florida 14 years ago there have been a number of introductions to the shop, including hot sandwiches and a new coffee machine.

Miss Beggs added: "It's a fantastic place to live... The shop has great potential. It's great fun."

The village of Patterdale, located in the heart of the Lake District, is overlooked by the Helvellyn range on one side and by Place Fell on the other. The shop itself benefits from being directly on the Coast to Coast path devised by Alfred Wainwright, as well as the Ullswater Way walking route.

The freehold property is on the market with Mere Commercial, a leisure and commercial specialist agent, and has a guide price of £539,000. Further details can be found on their website www.merecommercial.co.uk.