Lake District

My annual Thursday/Friday half-term break in February is the ideal opportunity for a trip to northern England. Combined with my regular weekend free time, it allows us to enjoy two full days exploring a location, bookended by additional space on the schedule. This year we booked accommodation in Cockermouth, a market town on the edge of the Lake District. Dolly Duster whisked us down the M74 to Carlisle, where we branched right and covered the remaining 40 miles to our destination.

Arriving in Cockermouth around 3pm, we spent a couple of hours walking around the town before seeking out our accommodation. A famous former resident is William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Poet Laureate for the final seven years of his life. The townhouse (pictured right) in which he was born is now owned by the National Trust, who took over the property in 1938 after a controversial proposal to demolish it and build a bus station on the site. Unfortunately the opening season hadn't yet begun but we were able to view the front exterior of the historic house (built 1745) from the street. The New Bookshop was well stocked and we made a couple of purchases after a lengthy browse. Prominently on display was the latest offering from former government minister Rory Stewart. Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders, released in October 2025, is a portrait of rural Britain based on his time as a Cumbrian MP. He has published a few books with walking themes. There was a poster advertising an appearance by Kenneth Wilson, author of Pilgrim Cello - a tale recounting a bike tour of every English cathedral with said instrument in tow. Worth buying for the concept alone! Needless to say, the in-store talk would be followed by a musical performance. A short walk from the main street brought us to the Jennings Brewery tap room, where I purchased a box of four bottled ales to enjoy during my stay. Jennings is a name well known among real-ale drinkers. The family firm first occupied the Castle Brewery site in 1874, taking over existing premises and launching an expansion programme. Jennings became a major regional brewer, owning many pubs in Cumbria. Their cask ale was shipped across the country and I remember drinking it in various hostelries. A takeover in 2025 by Wolverhampton & Dudley eventually led to Jennings becoming part of the Carlsberg empire. Three devastating floods within a decade and the outbreak of Covid enforced the closure of the tap room and the cessation of brewery tours. Beer production was moved off-site and the the future looked bleak for the Cockermouth operation. In stepped local entrepreneurs Kurt and Rebecca Canfield, who acquired the inactive site, along with the rights to trade under the Jennings name. The town is once again firmly on the British brewing map.

Cockermouth developed around the meeting point of the rivers Derwent and Cocker. We had a clear view of this junction from a footbridge connecting the town centre to the main public car park. Cockermouth Castle loomed overhead, behind the brewery chimneys. The private residence is opened to the public during Festival Week. Owned by the Wyndham family since the 18th century, the castle was recently occupied by Lady Egremont (1925-2013), who worked on decoding operations at Bletchley Park during WW2 and restored the interiors and gardens of Cockermouth in later life. The town has a history of textile production and the dual river system provided plenty of mill power. Many of these buildings have been repurposed for residential or modern commercial use. We proceeded to our accommodation, a town centre apartment within a corner block, directly opposite Sainsbury's. It was a bedsit arrangement inside and perfectly adequate for a few days. A little table would have been nice, rather than the breakfast bar that faced the wall. The bathroom looked more or less new. Pass marks overall. Parking was available at a long-stay facility 100 yards away and the rates were reasonable. We were up early the next day to meet Nicole's friend Hannah for breakfast at Café Fika just down the road. I ordered the Hunter Breakfast - bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushroom, roast tomato, hash brown, poached egg & cornbread. The vegetarian option is know as the Gatherer. A clever bit of word usage. Hannah lives down south but is familiar with Cockermouth and the wider Lake District as her sister resides in the Cumbrian town. We climbed into Hannah's car after leaving the café and headed out for a circular day trip. At this point I should state that I'm not familiar with the inner Lake District, despite the proximity to Scotland. I had only ever explored the fringes, or skirted the region on the motorway. Today would change all that. I would say the mountain scenery matches the Highlands for beauty. Several snow-covered peaks towered overhead as we drove along the valley roads. Traffic in the middle of February is light but I imagine it gets pretty hectic as the tourist season warms up. We pulled into the picturesque village of Grasmere, which is famous for its quaint gingerbread shop, tucked away in the corner of St Oswald's Churchyard. The unique recipe was conjured up by Sarah Nelson in 1854, a former domestic servant who sold her creation outside the family cottage, home to the current shop. A spicy-sweet cross between a biscuit and cake, the gingerbread's reputation quickly spread and food lovers visit from far and wide. The business today is run by third-generation owners Joanne and Andrew Hunter. Staff wear period dress and the wonderful aroma of freshly-baked produce hangs in the air as you enter. Naturally we sampled the wares and I was surprised by the chewy texture. The phrase "I could get used to this" rapidly sprung to mind. The adjacent graveyard is the resting place of William Wordsworth. When the poet arrived in Grasmere aged 29, he was largely unknown and was writing innovative poetry that provided a contrast to the fashionable verses of the time. His work centred around the love of nature, the power of imagination and the importance of empathy. Poetry for a new age, that retains the power to speak to us today.

A memorial daffodil garden was opened within the churchyard in 2003. Entry is free but visitors may sponsor a personally engraved slate paving stone, shrub, or flower. Our next stop was the village of Coniston, where we enjoyed tea and scones in a friendly café. The Ruskin Museum was just about to close as we arrived and it wouldn't have been worth paying the admission charge. The displays explore local heritage and a special exhibition covers the achievements of Donald Campbell who died in 1967 while attempting a new water speed record on Coniston Water in his hydroplane Bluebird. The vehicle was restored after being recovered from the lake in 2001, along with Campbell's remains. Coniston today is a hub for climbers and walkers. Two youth hostels are located in the small settlement. Our final mission for the day was a drive through Wrynose Pass - a challenging single-track mountain pass with gradients of 25% and hairpin bends. The 1281-foot summit is marked by the Three Shires Stone, a monolith marking the tripoint of historic Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmorland. There was a light covering of snow at higher altitudes and we stepped out of the car to admire the far-reaching views down the valley. The road drops to an intersection with Hardknott Pass - where slopes approach 1 in 3. This option was closed off due to icy conditions and we continued south to loop around the long skinny Lake Windermere. Darkness had fallen by the time we passed through Windermere town, which has many facilities and must be mobbed during the summer. Back in Cockermouth, we settled in for the night and the next day saw us set out early for the nearby market town of Keswick, another tourist hot-spot at peak times. Hannah was once again at the wheel and our first stop was the quirky Derwent Pencil Museum. A vintage Morris delivery van was stationed outside and we entered the main galleries via a mock-up of a graphite mine, the source material for pencil lead. We were handed a paper sheet to complete as we toured the museum, all the questions relating to the history of the pencil trade. The local Borrowdale Valley is rich in graphite deposits and the material was first extracted around 1540. Aside from the manufacture of writing implements, graphite (also known as wad, and actually a form of pure carbon) was used in the casting of cannonballs. This military importance meant the mines were always under heavy protection by the authorities. Stolen scraps were sold on the black market. Pencil making started as a cottage industry and grew into the large commercial enterprise we know today. The museum traces this journey within the Keswick area. Three main factories were established by 1811. Derwent came onstream in 1832 is now a global player in the world of art supplies - the majority of which are made in the Lake District. The brand is commonplace in many specialist shops.

The arrival of the railway in 1860 increased trade and also brought an influx of tourists. Quick to spot the chance of making an extra buck, the pencil manufacturers offered special souvenir sets to visitors. Vintage pencil sharpeners were only display, including the hand-cranked type that clamps to a desk. I vividly remember them from primary school. Pencils have uses ranging from serious creative tools to a convenient way to jot down shopping lists. An unexpected twist in the museum script was the role played in wartime espionage. Tiny brass compasses and nylon maps were secreted in the hollowed-out chamber where the lead would normally reside. This top-secret activity was performed in Keswick. The eraser was glued in place at the end of the fake pencil, concealing the carefully crafted contents. The idea of writing implements being not quite what they seem found its way into the early James Bond movies. After completing the gallery circuit, we handed our puzzle sheets to the receptionist. You don't have to be Einstein to predict which small gift we each received. Afterwards we drove out to the Castlerigg Stone Circle on the edge of town. The Lake District was designated a National Park in 1951 and is the largest conservation area in England. UNESCO World Heritage recognition was added in 2017. The park features England's highest mountain, Scaffell Pike, which rises to a height of 3209 feet. Regarding the lakes, both the deepest (Wast Water) and the largest (Windermere) are located within the boundaries. In 1913, the National Trust bought the field containing the impressive ring of 38 stones. Concerns had been raised about tourists chipping off little souvenirs to take home. English Heritage is the current guardian and the Neolithic treasure (approximately 4500 years old) is surrounded by a backdrop of stunning hills and valleys. Quite typically, the stones do not form a perfect circle. A common building technique was to make the ring appear circular to those close to it on the ground, rather than strive for true geometrical accuracy. The largest monolith is estimated to weigh 16 tons and it is reckoned the original structure comprised around 50 pieces. Within the perimeter is a rectangular arrangement of ten stones, the possible remains of an ancient burial chamber and reckoned to be a later addition. Our journey continued south and we stopped at the Sawmill Café & Farm Shop, near the tiny village of Nether Wasdale. The mill closed as recently as 2015, having been converted to electric power in 1963. Our table was located on a wooden terrace overlooking the River Irt. On the the opposite bank we spotted a tree-creeper, mistle thrush and woodpecker. The icing on the cake came in the form of a dipper whizzing up and down the watercourse. One of Nicole's favourite birds to encounter. Before leaving, I purchased a couple of local ales from the shop. We drove the short distance to Wast Water - a three mile long lake with a depth of 258 feet (79 metres). As previously stated, the deepest in England. We parked up by a vintage finger signpost and strolled along the shore. On the far side, impossibly steep scree slopes swept down to the water's edge. I asked myself whether the scenery could rival the Scottish Highlands and - putting all patriotic considerations aside - the answer was an emphatic yes. Daylight hours are limited in February and, following a pleasant drive across an upland moor, we pushed on to the Irish Sea coast at St Bees - the most westerly point of Cumbria. The village has a large caravan site and we wandered along the flat beach in the bitingly cold wind, retreating to the car after half an hour. A large board displayed a map of the Coast to Coast Path, which was awarded full National Trail status shortly after we returned home. Devised by Alfred Wainwright in 1973, the 190-mile route ends at Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea. It is a challenging test for walkers due to the severe undulations and Wainwright suggested 12 stages, each one finishing at a settlement with overnight accommodation. I would imagine the upgrade to national status provides extra funding for maintenance and marketing. Darkness was falling as we headed back to Cockermouth. A Chinese takeaway awaited and we said farewell to Hannah.

On our final day, we didn't have to depart until the afternoon and I checked out the local railway heritage while Nicole attended a Quaker meeting. Cockermouth Station closed in 1966 and all buildings were demolished. The site is now occupied by the emergency services. A mile of trackbed now serves as a public footpath through the town, known as the Greenway. The old station location was just up the road from our accommodation and I picked up the tarmac trail. It was a Sunday morning and several locals were out and about. I crossed the River Cocker, climbing down the steps to inspect the 1940 viaduct, which replaced the original arched structure. Benches were placed at regular intervals along the line and I read the information boards that told the story of the railway. Many photos of infrastructure and rolling stock were on display. I followed the pathway to the edge of town and I could see the outline of the railway faintly continue through the fields. Much of the trackbed between Cockermouth and Keswick lies under the modern A66. Beyond the latter settlement, a three-mile section has been converted to a walkway. One to note for the future. The route continued to Penrith, where it connected with the West Coast Main Line. The original purpose was to link up the Cumbrian coal and iron industries with the rest of the country. Passenger traffic soon proved popular but the line's fate was sealed as car ownership increased rapidly after WW2. Westwards from Cockermouth, the railway ran out to Workington - a major port. The coastal line from Carlisle to Barrow serves this town today and it's easy to see why the cross country route via Cockermouth was snipped out. That said, Keswick must surely be choked with cars at peak times today and a rail connection would make sense in this context. Several railway footpaths now exist around Workington. I could build a little weekend trip around that. Soon we were bounding back up the M6 towards Scotland. I'm glad I finally managed to visit a beautiful corner of the UK that doesn't lie too far from home. Cockermouth itself has fought back well from the disastrous flood of 2009, when the two rivers burst their banks and the water rose to heights of 2.4 metres. Around 900 people lost businesses or homes.