Words Worth Writing

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After the torrential downpours on the coast, the weather forecast was an an improving picture for the following few days. We are in the Lakes though I thought to myself, as I watched the clouds initially lift from the opposite hills only to descend again within minutes. I consoled myself with the full English breakfast, which arrived shortly after. We were staying at the Embleton Spa between Cockermouth and Keswick. The village of Embleton lies just off the main trunk road linking the coast to the M6, making it both peaceful and convenient. It even has a very regular bus service stopping in the village next to the hotel, which links Workington to Penrith. If you therefore fancy giving the car a rest from parking woes in the height of the summer or just want to go on the refreshments, it is ideal. Mind the pint of Ullswater Gold in the hotel was very acceptable and sensibly priced too. The hotel was billed as dog friendly and certainly lived up to it's boast. Vera was able to accompany us to both breakfast and dinner. We stayed in one of the hotel apartments - a spacious lounge and functional mini kitchen, in addition to the bedroom gave us more space to spread out and had represented excellent value on the Black Friday booking deal. It always baffles me, when people book off the comparison sites, rather than having a look on the individual business website. Vera actively eyed up a sausage to supplement her own food to get her day off to a good start. We headed out to explore.

Cockermouth is sort of familiar to me, but it is not! A life on the road working all over, has seen me in the town on 4 or 5 occasions. In the main, I did the job cocooned in an office for a few office and left. My extensive knowledge of many places amounts to directions, knowing a handy parking place or if I was forced to stay over, the best place to get a pint. On that subject, the best pint in Cockermouth regardless of exact location was always Jennings. The brew was widely exported all over the north of England, but these days small is not always beautiful and the corporate brains that supposedly know what they are doing have chosen to close the Brewery. The general motivation on many occasions is just to wipe out the competition. What isn't in existence, can't hurt you ... or can it? The rise of the microbrewery is a direct response to those lack of corporate brains. The Jennings Brewery started life in the 1820s, using the pure local waters. The Castle Brewery plant was opened in 1874. The end was effectively signalled in 2005, when the Marstons company took over proceedings. A merger of the Marstons group with Carlsberg, saw the Cockermouth Brewery closed in October 2022. You can obviously still buy the Jennings brand, but the product is brewed in Burton, Derbyshire. Does it taste better? Does it taste the same? Would you buy it? The answers are probably heavily weighted towards a "no", from the majority, which then raises the question of whether it was actually good business sense to close it? Corporate vandalism comes in many forms and isn't restricted to those that have played a hand in the destruction of the Post Office brand. Ironically, the Cockermouth Castle Brewery plant is still there. Untouched, 18 months on. We walked through the lane, which runs through the site. A notice pinned to the fence merely states, For Sale. The original asking price in 2022 was £750,000, but that didn't seem to generate much excitement amongst the development vultures. Planning permission granted for 16 flats on part of the 1.7 acre site has now lapsed, although that is highlighted as a selling point for future potential. The traditional selling process having attracted limited interest, a date for auction was set as 12 March 2024 with a guide price inflated to £900,000. Bizarre! However even more bizarre, the lot was withdrawn from the auction at the 11th hour. Who knows what is happening now? The For Sale sign remains attached to the fence.

One end of the Main Street in Cockermouth is devoted to arguably their favourite son. William Wordsworth was born in the town in 1770. A small bust of him lies just off the crossroads, overlooking the house in which he was born. The bright orange Georgian mansion was owned by James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, who allowed his son, John Wordsworth, to occupy the property. William Wordsworth lived there for the first 8 years of life, until the death of his mother. He would go on to become Poet Laureate, inspired by the landscapes of the Lake District. The house remained a private property until 1930, when it came into the ownership of the local bus company. They had ideas of demolition and planned to use the land as a Bus Station! After an outcry, the house was donated to the National Trust. The house wasn't open to the public until Easter, but as they don't appreciate our 4 legged friend a visit was not on the itinerary anyway. We walked along the street to the spot where another son of Cockermouth has a slightly different memorial - a Wetherspoon's pub. Fletcher Christian. Christian was also born in local Parish in 1764. He left for a life on the sea and followed a slightly less conventional route to putting his home town on the map. He became infamous as the man who led the mutiny on board HMS Bounty against the command of Captain Bligh. Of course he had very little connection with Cumbria in adult life, but why spoil a good name for a pub. He lived out his day on Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific. It was probably warmer than Cockermouth.

A statue in the centre of the road outside the Fletcher Christian dominates the Main Street. It turns out to be neither Wordsworth nor Christian.This splendid structure turns out to be of the Earl of Mayo, MP for Cockermouth between 1857 and 1867. He moved on to greater things in 1869 and was appointed Viceroy of India. Alas the good career move proved his undoing and he met an untimely end in the Andaman Islands in 1872. The statue has been in situ since 1875, although why it was thought relevant 6 years after he ceased being the MP remains a mystery to me. I guess money is the answer. It could catch on - certain politicians are probably eyeing a spot in Richmond market place or the centreof Uxbridge, as we speak. The town centre of Cockermouth it has to be said, is a fairly pleasant place. A good mix of independent shops continue to thrive post Covid. Tourist trade clearly brings in a bit extra at certain times of year, but it still feels a place the locals. A great many towns of the Lake District have been overtaken by the tourist circus. We walked on to the Market Place and it's Georgian buildings and on up Castle Terrace. The Castle was built by the Normans in the 12th century, has played a part in the Wars of the Roses, the Civil War and more recently had a battle with flooding that overwhelmed the town.

If Cockermouth still has the feel of a town where local people predominate, there is definitely an obvious leaning towards tourism in Keswick. That said, the town wears it well and it has a whole lot more relaxed atmosphere than the Windemere area. Mind, it eas only March. We parked up without much fuss near Upper Fitz Park and followed the River Greta for a while, before cutting back into the far end of town. The Keswick Cricket Club ground in the lower area of Fitz Park was voted as the most picturesque in the country by Wisden in 2001. The Derwent Pencil Museum is housed in a fine art deco building - worth a look in it's own right, regardless of any interest in pencils. The Museum houses the World's first pencil and one the largest colour pencils at 8 metres long. Pencil production started as a cottage industry in the town, the first factory was built in 1832 and the Museum is housed in this building started in the 1920s. The factory closed down in 2007 - production was moved to another facility in nearby Workington.

Keswick sits a short walk away from Derwentwater. It is the third largest lake in the National Park after Windemere and Ullswater. The lakeside was generally quiet - the season for the pleasure boats, that ferry tourists around had not yet kicked off. We wandered past the Theatre by the Lake complex. It was built in 1999 to replace the previous Blue Box Theatre, wrecked in mob violence after an infamous Scooter Rally in 1981. Brighton perhaps, but who knew Mods descended on Keswick? The most interesting theatre in town remains the old Alhambra. It opened in 1913 - avoided the attentions of the Mods - and has been continually showing films for over 100 years. The entre of town was bustling with daytrippers and bus tours, all looking for the essential cup of tea. Keswick is not short of suitable cafes to satisfy this demand. The other obvious retail success in town is the outdoor shop. The adjacent countryside and fells have concentrated a plethora of shops selling everything you would ever need to conquer the great outdoors. All the national chains seem to be represented.

On the outskirts of Keswick is the local equivalent of Stonehenge. Well actually, it is estimated to pre-date Stonehenge by 500 years. The English Heritage describes the Castlerigg Stone Circle as "the most atmospheric and dramatically sited of all the British stone circles" with a backdrop of fells. The Castlerigg site is thought to date from the Neolithic period, some 3000 years BC. There are 38 standing stones in situ. Entry is free. Your biggest problem in the summer will probably be finding a place to park safely on the narrow country lane. We pressed on towards Penrith and the M6, heading for the Hartside Pass and the road Alston. The road begins to wind and climb a few miles out of Penrith with spectacular views towards the Lake District and out over the Solway. The summit is 1904 feet above sea level and the road is obviously best tackled in the better weather months. The A686 technically runs between Penrith and Corbridge in Northumberland and is reputed as one of the 10 great drives in Britain. I must look where the other 9 are located.

Alston shares the title of England's highest market town with Buxton. The area has a long history of mining. Silver was extracted here on a small scale and later, lead. The mines gone, the population has fallen to just over 1,000 today. The signs of a greater population are everywhere - from the size of churches, to the 1858 Town Hall and to the sign above a door for the Carlisle & Cumberland Bank. The last bank, Barclays, pulled out in 2015. There is no longer a regular market, but the town retains the right to hold one. The market cross in town is replica, the original having been totalled by a wagon in the early 1980s. The town sits in Cumbria, but the 1869 Church of St Augustine is the Diocese of Newcastle. The train once ran to Carlisle, but fell victim to the Beeching Report in 1963. Today, a few heritage trains rin in the season. The bus timetable indicated limited bus services heading towards Haltwhistle, from where connections ply East towards Hexham or West to Carlisle. Alston is certainly remote and it felt remote. We had a lovely pot of tea and a scone in a newly opened cafe. The coffee machine was on the blink and the repair man was solving the issue, whilst we were there. It was a good job that the weather was okay by Alston standards, or the repairs might have been a while in coming.

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Photos

Cockermouth
Wordsworth Birthplace Museum

Cockermouth
William Wordsworth Statue

Cockermouth
Earl of Mayo Statue

Keswick
Castlerigg Stone Circle

Keswick
Derwent Pencil Museum

Keswick
Derwentwater

Alston
Church of St Augustine

Alston
Church of St Augustine

Keswick
War Memorial

Alston
Church of St Augustine

Keswick
The Alhambra Theatre

Cockermouth
Wordsworth Birthplace Museum