The Cockermouth Ale Trail, The Lake District, Cumbria

Distance: 2.33 km

Difficulty: Easy

Dog Friendly: No

Ascent/Descent: Easy (+/- 50 metres)

Toilets: At the various pubs

Wildlife: Nothing of note

Endomondo route: Download here

Cockermouth Ale Trail

Pictures

 

Directions

The ale trail starts outside the Jennings Brewery. This is because you’ve booked yourself on the brewery tour and upon arriving in Cockermouth, the first thing you’re going to do is locate the brewery so you aren’t late!

1. From the brewery, leave and head east along Wyndham Row with the castle wall up to your left. At the end of the road, you will be able to see the castle (picture 1). Turn right onto Castlegate and head downhill, taking the first left onto Market Place. At Seth’s Bar (on the right), turn right onto Kirkgate and head uphill. After a short way, the first pub on this Ale Trail, The Bitter End, is on your left.

2. Exit The Bitter End and turn left, continuing up Kirkgate just a short way. Turn left onto a narrow and difficult-to-spot road called Cocker Lane. Follow this lane all the way to the river, where you will cross over the River Cocker on the Quaker’s Footbridge (picture 2).

The Quaker’s Footbridge was originally built around 1887 and the bridge was renewed in 1984. During the 2009 floods, the bridge was partially swept away by trees and debris in the surging waters. 

3. Over the bridge, continue straight ahead, passing a sports pitch on your right. After a short distance, turn right onto the B5292 (the next right turn after Challoner Street). Walk for approximately 100m, crossing over at some point over to the left hand side, where you will come to The Brown Cow pub.

4. Exit The Brown Cow and turn left onto the main road through Cockermouth (still signposted as the B5292). Immediately ahead, you should see the Mayo Statue (picture 3) sitting between the two lanes of the road.

The Mayo Statue is a fine marble statue of Richard Southwell Bourke, sixth earl of Mayo, M.P. for Cockermouth 1857-68. The statue was erected after Mayo was assassinated in 1872. Whilst visiting a convict settlement in the Andaman Islands as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, a prisoner stabbed the earl with a knife, seemingly motivated by the injustice of his incarceration. The 800-guinea cost of the statue (made by Messrs. Willis of London) had been raised by public subscription.

5. Pass by the Mayo Statue and on the left will be the next pub, The Fletcher Christian. Exit the pub and go left, continuing along the main B5292 road. Cross over to the other side of the road at the crossing point just before the mini-roundabout. When you reach the mini-roundabout, William Wordsworth’s house (picture 4) on the right.

William Wordsworth’s house is the birthplace and childhood home of romantic poet William and his sister Dorothy. It is a National Trust property and is presented as it would have been when they lived here with their parents, three brothers and servants in the 1770s. The cellar is also rumoured to be haunted by a host of characters, including 13-year-old William, the grumpy manservant, and Amy, the maid.

Continue on straight ahead and after just a short way you will come to The Trout on your right. This is the final pub before the brewery tour. Exit The Trout and continue along Crown Street. At the roundabout, turn right and cross over the bridge, admiring the view of the River Derwent (picture 5). Once over the bridge, take your next right and enter the Memorial Gardens through the metal gate.

The Memorial Gardens were created to commemorate the lives lost in WWII. The land was officially acquired in 1946 and was officially opened to the public on 11 August 1956. The grounds were severely damaged in the catastrophic floods of 2009, and the access bridge from Main Street (Miller’s Bridge) was swept away. In 2010 a number of trees were planted to mark the anniversary of VE Day, but also the reopening of Millers Bridge and of the grounds.

6. Follow the path through the Memorial Gardens as it joins alongside the River Derwent. Turn right and cross over the first footbridge you come too. Over the other side, continue straight ahead along Bridge Street, coming to the main road (B5292) you walked along earlier. Turn left, retracing your earlier route, but this time staying on the other side of the road from The Fletcher Christian. At the crossroads where The Brown Cow is located, turn left onto High Sand Lane. At the end of the road, do not turn left onto Waterloo Street. Instead, continue on ahead over the small bridge aptly named Brewery Bridge. You are now on Brewery Lane. Follow this road as it bears around to the right and you will find yourself back at Jennings’ Brewery. Enjoy the tour!

Pub 1: The Bitter End

The Bitter End is a traditional English Pub and restaurant that boasts its own micro-brewery that can be viewed through a glazed partition in the pub. Up to eight ales on pump, they certainly give Jennings a good run for their money! The pub has an appetising menu with all meals freshly prepared using fresh local produce whenever possible. All their meat is supplied by local butchers and is 100% traceable to Cumbrian Farms. You can view their website here.

Pub 2: The Brown Cow

The Brown Cow has a humble exterior, but don’t let this put you off. The inside is really cosy, with comfortable seating and an open fire to warm yourself by on a cold day. We were really impressed with the food here, choosing to stop for our lunch after browsing many Cockermouth menus. The staff were really friendly, the food portions were filling and reasonably priced and the ale selection was good! If you’re looking for lunch in Cockermouth, we recommend this place.

Pub 3: The Fletcher Christian

The Fletcher Christian is a modern and contemporary pub that sits in the centre of the main high street. Having built up a great reputation for live music, entertainment and sports and games, this appeals to a wide variety of customers and is a focal point for the local community.

Pub 4: The Trout

The Trout is a modern, idyllic, picture-postcard hotel, restaurant and bar located on the bank of The River Derwent. Given its location, it may seem surprising that The Trout does not offer a wide selection of local ales, serving only Cocker Hoop ale from Jennings. The Trout chooses to instead to focus on wines and premium beers, which matches the upmarket clientèle this pub targets. Nonetheless, the settings are beautiful, the staff friendly and the beer tasty, if not a little overpriced. The Trout is also on the Cask Marque Ale Trail, so it’s well-worth a call in. You can view their website here.

 

Pub 5: Jennings Brewery

We aren’t going to say too much about the Jennings Brewery tour, other than that for just £12, you get a 45 minute tour where you learn all about how Jennings ale is produced, as well as and three half-pints of ale in the brewery bar. You can book a brewery tour here. A must-see when visiting Cockermouth!

  

Tips

There are multiple other pubs along the route that you may wish to call in; we’ve picked our favourites.

Brewery tours fill up quickly, especially during peak times. So book early!

Chris & Shaz

The Craven Arms & Stokesay Castle Circular, Shropshire

Distance: 11.11 km

Difficulty: Moderate

Dog Friendly: Yes, in most places (Some fields have livestock in)

Ascent/Descent: Moderate (Some steep uphill climbs, +/- 332 metres)

Toilets: In the pub, the Discovery Centre and at Stokesay Castle

Wildlife: White-throated dipper, Otter, Kingfisher

Endomondo route: Download here

Free Circular Walking Route, Craven Arms, Shropshire

Free Circular Walking Route, Craven Arms, Shropshire

Pictures

Directions

Start at The Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre car park (Sat nav: SY7 9RS). It’s free to park there, but the Discovery Centre is a little bit underwhelming (and they charge for their walking route guides)

1. From the Discovery Centre car park, follow the tarmac path around to the rear of the Centre. From here, you will see a multi-direction signpost for all of the walks starting here. Head right, following the signs for the Stokesay Castle walk. After no more than 10 or 20 metres, turn left and go past the community garden. Continue straight, keeping right down a narrow lane, eventually coming to a metal bridge over the River Onny.

The River Onny is a major river of Shropshire. The river contains brown trout, a favourite food of otters, which you may be able to spot.

2. Head out into the open field and cross it bearing ahead and right. Follow the perimeter around until you come to a footbridge; cross over it and follow the edge of this field, uphill towards some farm buildings. Follow the track ahead, bearing left, then right through Whettleton Farm, coming out onto a road.

Whettleton was once a bustling village. In 1645, the fields were the scene to a bloody battle during the Civil War when Parliamentarian forces charged downhill to ambush a larger Royalist force. The Parliamentarians won the battle, killing Sir William Croft, a key commander, and taking hundreds of prisoners.

3. Follow the road for about 300 metres, just past a house on your left, then turn immediately left, beginning to climb steeply uphill on a narrow, overgrown footpath. The path will bear left, continuing to track alongside the edge of the wood, then eventually bearing right. Keep following the obvious path until you come to a clearing with a house. The path is hard to spot, but it heads down the right-hand side of the house on a narrow, overgrown footpath with lots of rhododendron bushes. You may be able to see an open, circular field to your right. This is the old Norton Camp hillfort.

Here lies the ancient earthworks of a camp that had a double rampart and ditch that stood for around 2,500 years. In reality, the fort was more like a hilltop town; its vastness best appreciated by walking the perimeter.

4. The lane follows the outer edge of the camp until you reach an old house. Head on between the old house and a red brick building along a broad, permissive path that follows the curves of the ramparts. Keep going to reach a stile on the left. Climb over the stile and walk along the path as it winds along the top of the escarpment. Cross the next stile and follow the narrow path.

On the right are sheer limestone cliffs that run all along from Craven Arms to Much Wenlock. The rock has been quarried, with the stone produced being ‘burnt’ to produce slaked lime for treated arable farmland and for producing mortar.

5. The path winds away from the edge, eventually, bearing left and then right to descend down to Rotting Lane. Follow the blue bridleway arrows down Rotting Lane until you join a forestry track that, still descending, bears left and then right to come to a metal gate. Follow the track to the bottom of the hill. The route then turns sharply left down a narrow lane. At the bottom of the lane, turn left along a surfaced track to pass a brown stone house called Park Croft. Continue to descend, passing through Park Farm yard and coming out on the A49 main road.

6. Cross the A49, taking the track directly in front of you and crossing over the bridge before turning right to follow the track parallel to the River Onny (image 2). After a short way, the track bears a right-angle left and heads under a railway bridge. Keep heading straight on, but bearing right when you reach the edge of the field, sticking to a loosely worn perimeter path around the field. You should now be heading along the edge of the field, parallel to the train line, a short distance off to your right. You will now come to a barbed wire fence. There is no obvious way across, but head downhill slightly and you will find a stile to climb. Climb over, then head back up hill returning to the path that goes along the edge of the field, running parallel to the train lines. (The actual path is meant to run through the middle of the field, but the farmer has not maintained the paths/signs.) At the far end of this field, turn right, head downhill and join a rough track that follows alongside the train line.

7. Keep heading straight on, passing some lime kilns (image 3) on your left and following a rough track. You will see Stokesay Castle in the distance. Shortly after the sewage works (image 4), turn right and cross over the railway crossing, taking care. Follow this lane, bearing slightly right and passing some housing/farm building on your left. Keep going to reach Stokesay Castle (image 6). Continue on, past the Castle on your right and the car park on your left. Follow the road as it turns right, then bears left, before coming out on to the A49 once more.

8. Turn left onto the A49, crossing over on to the right-hand side when there is suitable walking space to do so. Take the marked footpath right, which then turns left after 10 metres, to enter into Onny Meadows. Follow this path all the way back to your starting point at the Discovery Centre.

Pub: The Craven Arms

The Craven Arms is an established pub in the centre of Craven Arms town. It has two separate bars, one of which is an ale bar, plus a restaurant. We stopped here for lunch and a pint. The ale was okay; my preferred choice wasn’t available, but they did have the reliable Jennings’ Brewery classic The Cumberland Ale. It’s good, but not quite the local brew I had been hoping for. The food, however, was fantastic. Very tasty, very filling, and at a reasonable price.

 

Tips

Some of the paths are quite poorly maintained, overgrown and poorly signposted. Having the Endomondo app will make it much simpler to follow this route. We provide instructions how to use it here.

Stokesay Castle is really interesting to visit. The staff at the centre were very friendly and the admission price of £5.80 (per adult, without Gift Aid) includes an audio guide so you can learn all about its history. English Heritage website here.

Please let us know if you’ve enjoyed this walk.

Chris & Shaz