THE owner of a Dalton hotel has set the venue on course for its 'next chapter' by putting it up for sale.

The 10-bedroom Valley View, formally known as Clarence House, has been put on the market for offers in the region of £1.75m.

Clarence House relaunched under the new name Valley View less than a year ago.

The restaurant was converted to a cafe and gift shop after the previous owners' daughter Victoria Barber-Bolam took over the day-to-day running of the business.

"After my mum turned 80 this year, she allowed me to take over the business and I'd been looking at renovating for a long time," Mrs Barber-Bolam said in February 2019.

"I was looking at current trends and noticed daytime restaurants were more in trend than night-time restaurants. And the shop element just came naturally.

"A lot of hotels nowadays have shops incorporated within the hotel so I wanted to include that."

Mrs Barber-Bolam undertook the renovations in October 2018 in order to give the hotel 'a new lease of life'.

"I've watched so many local businesses close and I just thought we needed to do something different and keep the businesses going," she said at the time.

“The market is changing and we have to change with the market."

Mrs Barber-Bolam has now put the hotel on the market as she looks to 'take a step back and relax'.

"Mum is 82, she's retired, and my health isn't great," she explained.

"I don't live locally anymore and the time is right - the market is buoyant at the moment and there are some great things happening in Barrow."

Mrs Barber-Bolam revealed she has already had some interest in the hotel and does not believe the nearby Chequers being up for sale, priced at £1m, will impact on Valley View's chances of selling.

"They are completely different venues," she said.

"They are different in terms of the type of building and the type of clientele.

"We are still trading; we have a fabulous business and the shop is doing really well."

Mrs Barber-Bolam said Valley View has 'great opportunities' for expansion.

"There is quite a bit of land which someone could put pods on; there is so much more that could be done here," she said.

"I think I just want to spend time with my family and relax a little bit.

"I've worked in hospitality all my life and it's just time to take a break.

"We are really excited for the future of Valley View.

"The changes that we have made have proved to be the right decisions but the time is right for someone to come in and give it that little bit of oomph."