"IF I CAN keep it going for the next 10 years, then let's give it a go."

That was the message from the new landlord of a pub on a 50-acre island off the Furness Peninsula after it swung open its doors to the wider public for the first time since September.

Aaron Sanderson said business at Piel Island's Ship Inn 'ticked over nicely' on Monday.

"It was a little bit overcast, it wasn't glorious sunshine, but we had a good day," said the BAE worker.

"I'm really enjoying it, and it's going well.

"It's definitely challenging, obviously, more so because we have got to get stuff here.

"Getting things to the island is a little bit difficult and working out the tide."

Mr Sanderson felt it was 'really hard to explain' what it was that made Piel Island special.

"It's just a beautiful place," he said.

"I have come here since I was a kid. I wasn't coming into the job blind - I know what all the aspects of it there are.

"It's a place I have always loved."

Mr Sanderson said he had, with the help of friends, undertaken a 'massive clean-up' of the pub and island prior to reopening day.

The 33-year-old's taking on of the lease followed an extensive selection process in which more than 190 individuals registered an interest in the Ship Inn. 

The search for a new King or Queen of Piel - the title bestowed on the landlord of the pub - attracted interest from far and wide, with a news outlet in Canada among those to take on the story.

Veteran Piel Island tour guide John Murphy, who attended the 'soft opening' of the pub on Saturday, said Mr Sanderson seemed to be 'settling well and loving the opportunity of serving customers'.

"He's a very affable man, he's a very friendly man, and I think he's got a future on Piel," said Mr Murphy.

Mr Murphy describes himself as 'semi-retired'. He gives talks once people arrive on Piel Island, but the walks across to the site at low tide are now performed by Ben Pinder.