The Blue Lion at East Witton: Well-known Yorkshire Dales pub up for sale for first time in over 30 years

The lease on The Blue Lion at East Witton, in Wensleydale, is now available for £90,000 through agents Fleurets as the business's owners of more than 30 years, Paul and Helen Klein, are retiring.

The former shooting lodge has been an inn since 1840 and is part of the Marquess of Downshire's Clifton Castle and Jervaulx estates.The pub has a bar, restaurant and 15 letting rooms. Its annual turnover is up to £25,000. The courtyard rooms are converted stables from The Blue Lion's days as a coaching inn.

Restaurant review: The Blue Lion

It has potential to become a wedding venue due to its extensive rear grounds.

Known for its fine dining under the Kleins and chef Jon Appleby - who serve locally-shot game - The Blue Lion has been listed in the Good Food Guide and won Inn of the Year in 2014.

From 1856 to 1989, three generations of the same family ran the inn, until the last of the Fletchers, landlady Bessie, died and the Kleins bought the lease. In the Fletchers' day, beer was served in a jug straight from the barrel. The pub did not trade on Sundays as Bessie was the church organist.

The Blue Lion was the last pub in England to retain a six-day licence.

The name The Blue Lion is a nod to a previous owner of the East Witton estate the Earl of Ailesbury's coat of arms. The original sign is still in place.