Renovated High Force Hotel looks to the future

A FIXTURE of the upper dale tourist trade is hoping a renovated tea room will help them on the road to recovery.
The High Force Hotel lost “an awful of money” from the closure of the B6277 last year after a landslip near Bowlees prevented guests fulfilling their bookings.
Renovations and a new tea room-come-function suite has given the hotel a spruce up and operator Jan Butterfield revealed there’d been a lot of hard work done behind the scenes to get the place back on an even footing.
She said: “We are now looking at what will be an exciting period – all the major renovations are done and we can put all that behind us now we have things how we want them. It was a learning curve and it’s been massive as we had not done anything like this before. We feel we can start to enjoy running the business without the really hard work and worry that went along with that.”
The 53-year-old took over running the hotel in May 2015 alongside a business partner.
Raby Estates helped renovate the property and the pair got to work but Ms Butterfield was left on her own when her colleague pulled out after six months.
Things went from bad to worse when a landslip near Bowlees closed the road to the hotel in January last year.
Ms Butterfield added: “The damage the closure did was sizeable to say the least – it was detrimental to the business – particularly when it's the first chance to get on your feet.
“We have struggled from that because that period builds the foundation for the rest of the year and we have been playing catch up since then.
“These past two years have been an awful lot of hard work with setbacks but we are hoping this is a turning point and we can start to enjoy running the business.”
The top-to-bottom renovation paid dividends with bookings back to normal levels this Easter.
Ms Butterfield said hosting a Fives and Threes team and a darts squad has kept the business tied to the community.
With a dozen part-time staff, four full time employees and an array of volunteers, the former youth worker has hired locally and said she’d been keen on offering apprenticeships and courses for dale folk making their first steps into work.
Ms Butterfield added: “It’s nice to support young people and we’re big on training.
“We’ve done first aid courses, fire safety, lots of food hygiene courses as well as allergen awareness.
“As an ex-youth worker, I know how beneficial it can be to the young ones.”
Amy McLaughlan, from Middleton-in-Teesdale, has gained a level three qualification in administration in her time at High Force Hotel.
The 24-year-old said: “I’ve enjoyed the whole experience – I used to work behind the bar with the old owner but never behind the scenes.
“It’s amazing to see what goes.”
As well as an influx of young staff, the hotel has seen the installation of a defibrillator on its east-facing wall thanks to funding from the Stephen Mitchell Memorial Fund, Middleton-in-Teesdale Fire Station and public donations.
Plans are also in the making for a small fruit and veg stall to join the hotel’s ice cream shed.
Ms Butterfield paid tribute to volunteers who helped out on site.
She said: “They are absolutely amazing.
“They don’t want to be paid they just turn up to help they’re absolutely brilliant.”
The hotel function room is still available for bookings – for more information, call 01833 622336.