CAFE owners have hung up their aprons to focus on their deli business after seven years of serving scrumptious food to the community.

Claire and Alec McCarthy have bid farewell to the Rattle Ghyll Cafe in Rydal Road, Ambleside after seven and a half years of serving customers their delicious homemade food.

Over the years, the couple built an award-winning reputation for home cooking and baking which has won fans among locals and tourists alike.

The couple have passed on the cafe baton to new owners, Luke and Bethan, and are focussing their efforts primarily on their deli which is just 50 yards down the road.

The deli, which was set up in August 2019, is stocked with local – and natural – produce.

And in a bid to eliminate plastic from our shopping bags, one corner is dedicated to zero-waste self-service refills of a range of grocery products.

During the lockdown, they changed their stock to cater for demands and began to open seven days a week, rather than the usual five.

In a bid to focus on their deli, the McCarthy's decided to sell their cafe and took to social media to share the news.

They said: "It’s been a fun filled 7.5 years, but the time has come to hand on the cafe baton to new owners. We’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all our customers over the years, whether you came once, or were in every morning. Wishing new owners Luke and Bethan all the best for their new venture. If you want to come say hello we’re only 50 yards down the road."