A LAKE District Inn has been shortlisted for the Top 50 Gastropubs for 2022 list.

The Heft Inn and Restaurant, located in Newton-in-Cartmel, is owned and operated by Kevin and Nicola Tickle.

The inn was informed of its shortlisting on December 14 and is expected to find out where in the list it will be placed in January.

Nicola said: “We had no idea we had been shortlisted until recently. We got a message in the post on Tuesday.

“We don’t know where in the Top 50 we’ll be but we’re so happy to be in it.

“We only opened in June and to have this after just six months means so much for us.

“My husband Kevin is from Kirkby in Furness and he is the full-time chef here.

“This is our first venture together but we’ve worked in hospitality and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved with the business.

“We don’t know how we got noticed for it but we think it’s a panel of industry peers who vote on the list and they must have noticed us.

“While we, like everyone, would like to be at the top of the list, we’ll be happy with anything.

“Being open for just six months and being rated like this is amazing.

“We’ll have five guest bedrooms open in the next few months - we will keep pushing our new menu and moving up from there.

“We’re really blown away by all of this and it’s a lot to do with our amazing staff.”