TWO of the North East’s oldest and best-loved country hotels have been put up for sale after the company that owned them collapsed.

There has been a lot of interest from potential buyers for the Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland on the border of County Durham and Northumberland and the Warkworth House Hotel near Alnwick since owner J&G Inns went into administration a fortnight ago.

Both hotels remain open and although three staff have lost their jobs at the Lord Crewe, the rest of the 30-strong staff at the two businesses are likely to be kept on when a buyer is found.

Carlisle-based J&G Inns bought the hotels last year. It had suffered cash-flow problems at the hotels since business was hit by last winter’s snowy weather. It also owned the Brackenrigg Inn in Ullswater, but sold that earlier this year.

Gillian Sayburn, of administrators Begbies Traynor, said: “These hotels are good businesses and they will continue to run as normal and all forward bookings will be honoured. J&G had suffered some problems in line with the hotel industry as a whole over the last couple of years and its shortfall in business was made worse by the bad weather last winter.”

Agents Christie & Co are confident of a quick sale as both hotels have an interesting history as well as a good reputation.

The Lord Crewe is run from part of a 12th Century abbey and famous visitors include poet Philip Larkin and composer Benjamin Britten. Warkworth House is a former coaching inn. David Lee of Christie & Co said: “These are great properties in great locations. There has been a lot of interest from all sorts of potential buyers.”

The leasehold of the Lord Crewe is on offer for £65,000 and the freehold of Warkworth House for £500,000.”