A COUPLE who took on a St Bees guest house with the intention of staying for five years are retiring after 27.

Irene and David Whitehead moved to Cumbria 30 years ago from Oxford where Mrs Whitehead had been a nurse while Mr Whitehead worked overseas in the gas industry.

Once in the county, Mr Whitehead worked at Sellafield before the couple ran the Dog and Partridge, in Sandwith, for a year then took on Tomlin House B&B in St Bees.

Mrs Whitehead said: “It’s been hard work but very enjoyable. The job satisfaction is 10 out of 10.

“We don’t have to travel the world because the world travels to us. We’ve had people from all over the place come to stay.

“We thought we would only be in the B&B trade for five years, but because we meet a lot of nice people, and we have control of the business, we just carried on.

“We have decided that after 27 years it is time to retire. There are more B&Bs in the village, but we are the nearest to the start of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk.

“In our first year we had about six Coast to Coast walkers. Now we have six a night. Our guests are mostly walkers, although we also have some scientists from Sellafield. It’s all year round.

“When Sellafield was being built in the 60s just about every second house became a B&B but over time they died away so there were just a few left. With Moorside [the nuclear new build] the cycle is going to begin again and there’s going to be more business for guest houses.

“It has been hard work at times, but extremely satisfying when guests leave smiling and promise to return, which many of them do.”

The Whiteheads don’t have any fixed plans for their retirement when they eventually sell Tomlin House.

Mrs Whitehead said: “We’re just going to ride off into the sunset.”

Tomlin House is on the market with Christie & Co with an asking price of £275,000.