Cockermouth

The birthplace of William Wordsworth in 1770, Cockermouth mixes modern living with a strong sense of history.

William Wordsworth's Home

One of the first things that will strike you when you come to Cockermouth and take some time to walk around is the sheer scale of the architecture on view, of the history that has made a layered and often mismaligned town. Take a step off of the main vein of shops that adorn the main street and you will find quiet, narrow streets with colourful colourful houses. Reds and blues and hanging baskets decorate many of the houses and add a comforting and decadent feel to many of the narrow streets.

The Georgian architecture that cascades down from Cockermouth Park to the north all the way to the river is studded with museums and art galleries and antique fairs and markets. Shops sell jewellery and cloths and beads and ornaments and never is an opportunity missed to lavish visitors with tea and coffee. Delicious teas and cakes are served up along side ales from the famous Jennings brewery, a working brewery and popular tourist attraction, more of which below.

The Jennings Brewery and Museum.

One of the popular tourist attractions in Cockermouth is the Brewery where you can take a guided tour of the brewing facilities, get a history of the 175 year old process and see how the beer is made. Now the question that I am sure you will all be asking, is yes? But do I get to try some of these beers? Well, that would be telling, but if it is the sole reason for your visit, then you won’t be let down.

During the summer there are 2 tours a day, at 11 am and 2pm. During the winter this drops to just one a day in the afternoon. Please call 0845 129 7190 to check availability and to book. (www.jenningsbrewery.co.uk)

The Lakeland Sheep and Wool Centre.

It is a cold hard fact that over a million people have visited the sheep and wool centre. This makes the Lakeland sheep and wool centre the single most popular tourist attraction in and around Cockermouth. It has been heralded Cumbria venue of the year and has admirers form far a field.

Essentially it is a chance to meet and greet all the animals of the Lake District up close and personal. The sheep, the cows and everything in between is here. It is a favorite with children especially. It is educational, fascinating and certainly not to be missed (www.shepherdshotel.co.uk).

Eating and drinking

There is no shortage of quality eating establishments in and around Cockermouth. From pubs selling local ales and home made food to tea rooms and gardens, from plush restaurants on the riverside or local ice creams on a barmy summer’s day, all can be found.

Quince & Medlar
The Quince & Medlar serves great vegetarian food, enjoyable for non-vegetarians too! www.quinceandmedlar.co.uk

Merienda
This coffee shop offers a great variety of teas and drinks and home made cakes, sandwiches and deserts in a relaxing, friendly and comfortable settings. Merienda has live music on a Friday night making this a great favourite with locals and tourists alike. www.merienda.co.uk

The Bitter End
Highly regarded pub and restaurant with local ales and a high quality menu. The main thing about the Bitter End is that they actually brew their beer inside, you can even see them at work, making this a tourist attraction and somewhere good to eat and drink. Found just down from the church. www.bitterend.co.uk

The Cockermouth Town Trail

In a Bid to entice tourists and locals to get a feel for Cockernmouth and to learn and understand a bit more about its history, the district council have set up a walk around the market town. It encompasses many of the famous and historical landmarks that can be found, from the town centre and All Saints church to some less well known sights such as Kirkgate and the old rope walk.

All Saint's Church, Cockermouth

The walk is well signposted with 19 plaques along the trail to indicate points along the trail. A map can be obtained from the tourist information centre or www.cockermouth.org.uk/trail.

Shops and Shopping

Cockermouth is one of the bigger shopping towns in this part of the lakes. Unlike nearby Workington, Cockermouth is very much geared up for tourists whilst at the same time being a haven for locals to do their shopping. For this reason you have the best of both worlds. There are lots of small antique shops and small boutiques selling all kind of strange and foreign knick knacks. There are book shops where you can by the latest reads and all the literary greats that have rested and lived and wrote in the Lake District.

Down one of the alleyways in Cockermouth

If you would like to do your food shopping, there is a Sainsbury’s supermarket and a number of quality butchers. There are green grocers who still have their fruit and veg on stalls in the street.

Whether it be souvenirs and gifts for friends and relatives back home, your day to day food shopping or something to wear for a special occasion, Cockermouth has enough shops and boutiques to have a successful days shopping. The only thing that it does lack is a good quality record shop.

One of the river walks at Cockermouth

The Surrounding Area

Near to Cockermouth there are a whole host of Lake District activities on offer. Loweswater & Buttermere are just 7 miles away, Ennerdale is 10 miles and Keswick with Derwentwater Lake is a 13 mile drive.

Accommodation around Cockermouth

• Garden View, sleeps 2 in Papcastle.
• Hideaway Barn, sleeps 6 in Ruthwaite

Useful Links for Cockermouth

• For Merienda, a cafe specialising in fair trade and local produce, please visit www.merienda.co.uk
  
  
• For the Bitter End, a lovely pub with it's own brewery, visit www.bitterend.co.uk
  
  
• For Jennings Brewery and Museum, visit www.jenningsbrewery.co.uk
  
  
• For the Sheep & Wool Centre, please visit www.shepherdshotel.co.uk
  
  
• For the Cockermouth town trail, please visit www.cockermouth.org.uk/trail.
  
  
• If you would like to spend a day of guided climbing, canoeing, ghyll scrambling or other outdoor adventure sports, then visit www.carolclimb.co.uk
  
  
• For general climbing information, please visit Steve Crowe's website: www.climbonline.co.uk
  
  
• For information on Cockermouth in general, please visit www.cockermouth.org.uk