Discover some of Cockermouth's best dog walks
Every dog owner has experienced the frustration of being on holiday and not knowing where to take their pooch for a local stroll. We’ve asked some of Cockermouth’s four-legged friends for their favourite routes which start and finish in the town centre.
Sparky, the Patterdale Terrier, says…
You’ll probably have to stay on your lead for this walk as you’re on pavements but your owners will love the views and the pretty village. It takes us up to an hour to do the longest route, depending how much I stop and sniff!
If you cross Gote Bridge, the road bridge over the River Derwent just to the south of the town centre, you’ll find the way to Papcastle.
Cross the bridge from Crown Street, with Memorial Gardens on your right hand side, and carry straight on. You’ll pass the entrance to Cockermouth Cricket Club – where the world famous sportsman Ben Stokes started his career – then, opposite the Lawson’s Cranes yard and James Walker & Co factory, take a left turn up a slight hill.
Follow this road up past some lovely big houses and you’ll come into the pretty village of Papcastle which is packed with historic homes. Keep heading up until you spot another left turn. As you follow this road around to the right you’ll get lovely views down the fields to the river below – there have been archaeological digs down there for Roman remains.
After you’ve passed through a farm and up another incline which is usually lined with pretty wallflowers, you’ll come to a right turn which leads back into the village. Keep looking out for the quirky features on the houses, like a horse’s head above the doorway of an old stables.
You’ll head downhill now and have a couple of choices for your route back into town. If you carry straight on, you’ll be back on the road you walked up into Papcastle and this is the shortest way back to Cockermouth.
If you want a longer walk, take the left turn up past the village hall. After a couple of hundred metres, you can turn left again (the junction faces a housing estate) and walk up to Belle Vue where, if you’re lucky, the pub will be open for a dog-friendly pint.
To get back to town, you’ll pass the pub on your left, then follow the road to the right. You’ll meet a clearly signposted junction that points you down the main road back into Cockermouth – look ahead of you and you’ll see the fells of the Lorton valley to Buttermere and beyond
