A CELEBRITY chef from Rossendale has sold his country house hotel to a former newspaper editor from Blackburn.

John Tovey has run the prestigious Miller Howe Restaurant and Hotel on the shore of Windermere for 27 years.

He has accepted a six figure sum from Charles Garside, former editor-in-chief of The European newspaper.

The hotel only has 12 bedrooms but has picked up a string of accolades and is a current Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year.

Mr Tovey, 65, of Willows Farm, Goodshaw Lane, Crawshawbooth, is well known as an author and for his experience of radio and TV.

He set up Miller Howe with £75,000 in 1971 and had built it into a business worth £2.5million by 1989.

He has been troubled by osteoporosis over the past few years and had a major operation on his spine.

He said: "I feel very sad but at the same time I could not have handed it over to someone more enthusiastic.

"The staff, who are so important, are quite excited because a new broom means new ideas."

Mr Garside, a first-time hotelier from Blackburn, is said to have "fallen in love" with the Howe.

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