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Bed And Breakfast In Cockermouth
The Rook is a cosy seventeenth century townhouse, comfortably furnished with period furniture. It has exposed beams and stonework and a stone spiral staircase leading to the guest bedrooms on the second floor. All rooms are ensuite and have colour TV and beverage tray. A choice of substantial breakfasts is availabe to order and special diets catered for. Packed lunches can be provided by prior arrangement. Tourists, walkers, cyclists, business people, families, dogs (by arrangement) are all welcome. Washing and drying facilities available. Special weekly rates. Open all year except Christmas and New Year. Shops, pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions are all within walking distance. Cockermouth is a charming Cumbrian town, much quieter that the central Lake District, but still within easy reach of the high fells, the lakes, Solway coast and Border Country.
More Information About Cockermouth
Cockermouth is a town within the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England, and is so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. Historically a part of Cumberland, Cockermouth is situated on the northwest fringe of the English Lake District. This location tends to enhance the life and character of the town without the effect of receiving too many tourists (as some[who?] believe has occurred in the case of Cockermouth's neighbour Keswick). Much of the architectural core of the town remains unchanged since the 18th and 19th centuries. The regenerated Market place is now a central historical focus within the town and reflects events during its near 800 year history. The tree-lined main street boasts a statue of Lord Mayo, formerly an MP for Cockermouth, who became British Viceroy of India and whose subsequent claim to fame was that he was assassinated. There was a market every Monday in the town's Market Place from the 13th century, but in recent times the event has been held infrequently, if at all, although weekend continental and craft markets are more frequent. The centre of Cockermouth is largely unspoilt and the renovation of Market Place has been completed, now with an artistic and community focus. Although tourists come and go, Cockermouth is essentially a place to live in and both locals and 'offcomers' combine to give the town mix of traditional and urbane social character. Pubs and architecture In the days when opening hours of public houses were restricted the fact that the pubs in Cockermouth could open all day on Market days made the town a popular destination for drinkers, especially on Bank Holiday Mondays. Only the Market Bell remains as a reminder of this period (inset into a wall opposite the Allerdale Hotel). Much of the centre of the town is of medieval origin substantially rebuilt in Georgian with Victorian infill. The tree lined Kirkgate offers examples of unspoilt classical late 17th and 18th century terraced housing, cobbled paving and twisty curving lanes which run steeply down to the River Cocker. Most of the buildings are of traditional slate and stone construction with thick walls and green slate roofs. Many of the facades lining the streets are frontages for historic housing in alleyways and lanes (often maintaining medieval street patterns) to the rear. An example of this may be observed through the alleyway adjacent to the almost time-frozen Market Place hardware merchant (J.B.Banks and Son) where 18th century dye workers' cottages line one side of the lane and the former works faces them across the narrow cobbled lane. Examples of Georgian residences may be found near the Market Place, St. Helens Street, at the bottom of Castlegate Drive and Kirkgate. The recently renovated arts and cultural zone in the 13th century Market Place has undergone something of a 'regeneration' following European funding and is now pedestrian-friendly adorned with stone paving and roadways, underground lighting and controversial seating in bright colours to reflect the area's facades.Pavement art and stonework commemorate eclectic historical events, John Dalton's atomic theory, local dialect, flooding and a curious range other memorabilia. Wordsworth House has recently been restored and features a working eighteenth century kitchen and children's bedroom with toys and clothes of the times. Harris Park offers riverside walks and views down over the historic Town. There is a cycleway which runs along a former railway track and spans a high bridge over the Cocker affording views of the town and river-scape. The Kirkgate Centre is the Town's major cultural focus and offers regular historical displays by the museum group in addition to holding major cultural events including theatre, international music and world cinema. Landmarks Landmarks include the sizeable but partly ruined Norman castle, the home of Pamela, Lady Egremont. Built at the confluence of the Rivers Cocker and Derwent, the castle has a tilting tower which hangs Pisa-like over Jennings Brewery. The castle, with its preserved dungeons, is only opened to the public once a year during the annual town festival. Jenning's Brewery offers regular public tours and occasional carriage rides pulled by a shire horse. Other attractions include William Wordsworth's birthplace, and the Lakeland Sheep & Wool Centre which offers daily shows in its theatre. Culturally, the Kirkgate Centre offers international music, theatre and world cinema (including critically acclaimed and art-house movies on Monday evenings) and the town has an annual festival of concerts and performances each summer. Cockermouth has an annual Easter Fair, fireworks display and carnival. In April 2005 it hosted its first Georgian Fair, which was repeated in 2006, again in May 2008. At Christmas the town presents festive lighting throughout its main and subsidiary streets, accompanied by competing shop displays. Two and a half miles northwest of the town lies Dovenby Hall Estate, a 115-acre (0.47 km2) park and woodland estate. Dovenby Hall is the home of the Ford Rally team. The estate was bought in January 1988 by Malcolm Wilson for his M-Sport motorsport team and in 1996 they were selected by Ford Motorsport to build, prepare and run a fleet of cars for entry into the World Rally Championship. Services and Historic Pubs Cockermouth has three primary schools. These are Fairfield, which has separate infant and junior Schools; All Saints Church of England and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic. It also has a secondary school namely Cockermouth School, several churches, three medical and dental surgeries, a complementary health centre, a sports injuries and physiotherapy centre, an arts centre, and two art galleries (Castlegate House and Neo). Percy House Gallery on Main Street has a ceiling which dates from the 16th century with some of its timberwork dating from the 14th century. The town has many antique shops, three main galleries, and more than fourteen cafes. There are many restaurants and of course lots of pubs, many selling the locally brewed Jennings beers. The Bitter End pub in Kirkgate has its own micro-brewery and visiting ales. In the Market Place, the 1761 and Castle pub (which spans three floors) have been renovated to reveal medieval stonework and 16th and 18th century features. The largest hotel is the Georgian fronted Trout which still has a faded photo on its walls of Bing Crosby who used the hotel as a base for his fishing in the town's rivers. Cockermouth Rugby Football Club is now based at the former Cockermouth Grammar School site and can boast that in 1987 it played the first ever rugby union league match[citation needed] when they played Kirby Lonsdale when the Rugby Union formed national and regional leagues, the precursors of what have now become the national and premier leagues.
This Article was sourced using Wikipedia
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