Monday April 22nd 2019 Part 3 - Visiting Cockermouth

Leaving Sale Fell and driving west along the A66 my third and final port of call for the day was the market town of Cockermouth, which was only five miles from the camp site. As I drove into the town I spotted a sign for Harris Park, which may or may not have been worth a look round, so a quick change of direction took me close to it. Parking was on the nearby road in a 'disc zone' and as Jayne had previously anticipated that I might need a parking disc at some point she had thoughtfully got one for me, so I set the time on it, left it in the front window of the van and went off to see what the park was like.

Now unless I missed something which should have been obvious but wasn't, it didn't seem to be a particularly big park but it was nice enough, and a tree-shaded footpath took me downhill to a pleasant area along the riverside. A narrow lane took me back up the hill and into the main part of the park near the bowling green, then passing the tennis courts and crossing the grass I took the path which led back to where I'd parked the van.

Driving through the town itself, and having previously looked on Google maps and with suggestions from Jayne, I made my way to where I knew there was a car park at the far side of the river then walked back across the road bridge to check out the town. There was a lovely view looking east along the River Derwent, and set back in a corner at the end of the bridge was a pretty little war memorial garden.

Along the main road, past a church and the attractive black-and-white Trout Hotel and restaurant, I came to the Wordsworth House, the birthplace of poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. I would have liked to go in but dogs weren't allowed and I couldn't leave Sophie and Poppie anywhere so I had to be content with a photo of the outside. 

Across the road and on the corner were a memorial to Wordsworth himself and a drinking fountain dedicated to him and Dorothy; scant information has told me that this was originally erected in Harris Park in 1896 and was the focus of a daffodil ceremony held on the poet's bicentenary in 1970, though in recent years it was stolen but recovered and subsequently re-sited close to William's statue.

A narrow lane at the side of the Wordsworth House took me down to the riverside where a few paces along the path gave me a good shot of the nearby footbridge and a shot looking upriver, then back on the attractive main street I wandered along to see what there was of interest. Although there were plenty of shops lining both sides of the street hardly any of them were open and with not many people about the place looked a bit like a ghost town. 

Down an alleyway between two of the shops I found the Old Kings Arms Lane with a handful of modern units, a restaurant and a cafe but again none of these were open and I had the place to myself. Opposite the shops, and built after the devastating flood of 2009, was a high concrete wall with panels displaying information on the town's history and some of its well-known residents over the years. The description and photos of the flood were a real eye-opener and it was hard to believe that two rivers which looked so innocently attractive in the spring sunshine could overflow and reach the devastating height of 8ft, wiping out so many homes and businesses.

Back on the main street, and feeling rather peckish, I went in search of something to eat and drink but the prices in the few cafes which were open seemed rather OTT, however I found a One Stop shop which was open so I got a can of Coke and a snack from there. Close to the shop was a narrow lane, little more than a back alley, which took me to a bridge over the River Cocker where it joined the Derwent, and across the far side was a pleasant looking grassy area with a couple of benches. It was very quiet there so I spent a nice half hour on one of the benches, having my drink and snack with a very pleasant view in front of me, and any crumbs I dropped were quickly hoovered up by Sophie and Poppie. 

Going back to the main street I returned to the other footbridge, this time crossing it to walk along the far side of the river. Now while there may not have been many people in the town centre it seemed like the world and his wife were all walking along the riverside and on three separate occasions I was approached by an off-lead dog which seemed to be deaf to its owner's calling. I knew Poppie wasn't very happy so as everyone else seemed to be heading for where I wanted to go I took one final shot and cut my walk short, taking a path which I knew would get us back to the van. It was gone 5pm by then anyway so time to be heading back to the camp site.

I knew I hadn't explored as much of Cockermouth as I could have done, and some internet Googling since then has thrown up several interesting suggestions, so my time spent there has really only scratched the surface. Needless to say, it's a place I'll definitely be revisiting, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.