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The farming community of COCKERMOUTH , midway between the coast and
Keswick at the confluence of the Cocker and Derwent rivers, is yet
another station on the Wordsworth trail: the Wordsworth House on Main
Street (Easter-June, Sept & Oct Mon-Fri, 10.30am-4.30pm; July & Aug Mon-Sat,
10.30am-4.30pm; £3; NT) is where William and Dorothy were born and spent
their first few years. Some of the original features remain and there
are occasional Wordsworthian relics - a chest of drawers here, a pair of
candlesticks there - but despite the best endeavours of the enthusiastic
staff it's disappointingly lifeless. The rest of Cockermouth tries hard
to please, with its tree-lined streets and riverside setting, but after
the dramatic fellside approaches from the south and east the town itself
falls a little flat. However, there's certainly no shortage of rainy day
attractions ranged along Main Street - including museums of printing,
toys and models, and motoring - while if you follow your nose, you're
likely to stumble upon Jennings Brewery on Brewery Lane near the river.
The hour-and-a-half-long Jenning's Brewery Tour (July & Aug 4 daily;
April-June, Sept & Oct Mon-Sat 2 daily; Nov-Feb Mon-Sat 1 daily; £3.75;
booking advisable; tel 01900/821011; ) culminates with a tasting.
All buses stop on Main Street, from where you follow the signs east to
the tourist office in the Town Hall, off Market Place (April-June & Oct
Mon-Sat 9.30am-4.30pm; July-Sept Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Nov-March
Mon-Sat 9.30am-4pm; tel 01900/822634). The most convenient B&B is the
biker- and hiker-friendly Castlegate Guest House , 6 Castlegate (tel
01900/826749; no credit cards; £40-50). The Trout Hotel on Crown Street
(tel 01900/823591, ; £90-110), by the river, is the top choice, and
there are also rooms available in the Shepherd's Hotel , out at the
Lakeland Sheep and Wool Centre (tel 01900/822673, ; £40-50). Ten
minutes' walk south along Station Road, then Fern Bank brings you to the
Double Mills youth hostel (tel 01900/822561).
All the pubs along Main Street compete to sell bar meals at rock-bottom
prices, though best choice by far is the Bitter End on Kirkgate, a pub
housing Cumbria's smallest brewery. Of the cafés , the Norham Coffee
House , 73 Main St (closed Sun), trades on its history - formerly the
home of John Christian, grandfather of Mutiny on the Bounty's Fletcher
Christian. The Cockatoo , 16 Market Place (closed Mon, Tues & Sun eve),
is a friendly place, with simple lunches and more elaborate dinners.
Market day in Cockermouth is Monday.
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