LOCAL produce shops have closed after an 'awful Ambleside season'.

A Day’s Walk, a produce retailer based in the South Lakes, has closed its shops in Ambleside and at Holker Hall as well as its online delivery service for holiday lets and residents.

The business brought fresh produce from the small farms, fells, villages, and valleys of the Lake District to South Lakeland.

The company, which started during lockdown in 2020, has appointed Insolvency Practitioners to oversee the liquidation of the company following what they described as an 'awful season for trade' in its main store in Ambleside.

A store on Finkle Street in Kendal also closed in August.

READ MORE: Kendal shop closes after opening just three months ago

Founder of A Day's Walk Colin Sneath said: "Our shops and delivery service performed well last year and even this year our seasonal shop at Holker Hall has remained popular.  But both footfall and spend per head in Ambleside over the core summer months have been significantly lower than even our most pessimistic forecasts.

"Like many independent businesses we rely on the seasonal revenue from such a popular tourist location to support the company through the Winter months. August however, usually our biggest sales month by far, and Bank Holiday Weekend in particular, were almost 40 per cent down on last year. Delivery sales were 60 per cent down in August versus last year.

"The first week in September, the start of what is also typically a good month for us in Ambleside, felt more like February in sales terms. Despite injecting additional funds through loans and the last of our personal resources during the Summer, these awful trading conditions meant that we were advised to seek specialist advice. As a result we ceased to trade and have engaged an Insolvency Practitioner to oversee the liquidation of the company."

As to why the season had been 'so poor', Mr Sneath explained: "Cost of living pressures and the surge in people choosing to go abroad cheaply this year were probably factors. We were selling a high quality, premium product and that’s tough when there are significantly fewer people with significantly less money to spend."