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THE EDGE VACATION & HOLIDAY GUIDE TO CUMBRIA & THE LAKE DISTRICT COCKERMOUTH, CUMBRIA Main Street, Cockermouth. Stay at Brow Howe Bed and Breakfast. A 200 year old cottage.
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Cockermouth Location: OS ref NY 125305 Sheet 89. On the NW edge of the Lake District National Park. Nearest Towns: Maryport West on the A594. 6mls/10km. Keswick SE on the A66. 12mls/20km. Lakes: Bassenthwaite Loweswater Crummock Water. There are many more in easy reach. |
Cockermouth, northern gateway to the lakes, is perhaps best known as the birthplace of William Wordsworth, one of the most famous poets England has produced. However, there is considerably more than this to this wonderful town.
The town has something of a reputation for good shopping and has a great many amenities and activities, including Wordsworth's house (open to the public), four museums, a sports centre with an excellent swimming pool, golf, fishing on the Derwent and Cocker rivers ( incidentally Bing Crosby has enjoyed the fishing here), horse and pony riding, walking, climbing, sailing, tennis, squash, sheep dog trials, cycling, football, cricket, fell racing, Cumberland Wrestling; and last but by no means least Gurning, the pulling of ridiculous facial expressions while wearing a horsecollar round the neck: highly entertaining and usually performed in pubs. Cockermouth has it's own brewery- Jennings- which makes excellent real ales and a stout, and supplying many of the pubs in and around the town as well as across Cumbria and beyond. You can go on a guided tour through the brewery and sample its produce. Cockermouth offers some of the best accommodation in the county, and you don't need the late Bing Crosby's bank balance to stay: all budgets are provided for. In addition to the hotels there are many Guest Houses, bed and breakfast establishments and of course Inns, all pleased to cater for your needs. Cockermouth is a handsome town with the long and wide Main Street, where you will find many shops and amenities. Leading off Main Street on the south side are more streets and squares with more shops to tempt you. This is the bustling centre of the town on market day, Monday: a market charter was granted in 1221. Most of the town lies to the south of Main Street; to the north is the River Derwent overlooked by the Castle. Exploration of the town is rewarded by discovering fine old buildings, alleyways and streets. If you walk up to the Church Rooms past All Saints Church and the Town Hall you come to a plaque on the wall referring to the old Grammar School that stood here and where Fletcher Christian, who led the Mutiny on the Bounty, was educated.
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