Cockermouth, United Kingdom

The attractive small town and market centre of COCKERMOUTH is one of several stations on the Wordsworth trail. The Wordsworth House on Main Street (Easter– Oct Mon– Sat 11am–4.30pm; £4.90; www.nationaltrust.org.uk) is where William and Dorothy were born and spent their first few years. The building is presented as a functioning eighteenth-century home – with a costumed cook willing to share recipes in the kitchen and a clerk completing the ledger with quill and ink. Afterwards, follow your nose and you're likely to stumble upon Jennings Brewery, on Brewery Lane near the river. At Cumbria's best-known beer-maker, the hour-and-a-half-long tour (£4.95; booking advisable; Tel:0845/129 7190; Web: www.jenningsbrewery.co.uk ) culminates in a real-ale tasting session.

There's stylish accommodation in town at Six Castlegate, 6 Castlegate (Tel:01900/826749, Web: www.sixcastlegate.co.uk ; Price: 61-70), or out of town (two miles southeast) at the Old Homestead at Byresteads Farm, Hundrith Hill Rd, off the B5292 (Tel:01900/822223, Web: www.byresteads.co.uk ; Price: 61-70), a beautifully restored seventeenth-century farmhouse offering quality B&B. Meriendacafé, 7A Station St (Tel:01900/822790, Web: www.merienda.co.uk ; daytime only, though open Fri night for tapas and music), is the best place for breakfasts, sandwiches and light meals. Vegetarians meanwhile come from far and wide for the fine-dining experience that is the Quince and Medlar, 13 Castlegate (Tel:01900/823579, Web: www.quinceandmedlar.co.uk ; dinner only, closed Sun & Mon), while the top pub is The Bitter End on Kirkgate, housing Cumbria's smallest brewery.