A specialist commercial property firm says World Heritage Site status for the Lake District is driving demand – as it places another hotel on the market for offers over £2 million.

Colliers International says the inscription, awarded for the Lake District National Park area in July last year, is creating heightened demand for property.

The claim by Julian Troup, who heads up the company’s UK Hotels Agency, coincided with the commencement of marketing for Waterhead Hotel on the shores of Coniston Lake.

The Victorian former manor house has been operated as a hotel for more than a century. Located on the outskirts of Coniston village, the hotel is expected to fetch a top price as it boasts its own lake frontage and jetty.

Mr Troup said: “It is an established and well-known hotel operating with a healthy trading base.

“We are anticipating a favourable response to the marketing, particularly bearing in mind it is so rare to see a Lakeland hotel with actual lake frontage coming to the market.

“We have seen significant demand from both domestic and overseas buyers keen to acquire UK provincial hotels and the Lake District continues to be our most productive area of demand.

“We are already experiencing heightened demand for the Lakes on the back of it recently being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, being one of the UK’s premier tourist destinations.

Colliers International are acting on behalf of current property owners, the Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance.

The hotel, which has four acres of landscaped grounds, caters for visitors and businesses and can host functions, including weddings.