The beautiful and ancient town of Cockermouth, located within the county of Cumbria and the borough of Allerdale, has some of the most historically gorgeous architecture and scenery in all of England. Very rarely has a town with such an arguably unattractive name garnered such praise for its stately beauty. For the record, and to silence juvenile giggling, the name Cockermouth derived from the fact that the town lies at the very edge of the river Cocker. Lying at the mouth of the Cocker has in fact helped Cockermouth to gain some of its envious natural features so the name should be said with pride and no trace of sarcasm.
Either way, Cockermouth is filled to the brim with gorgeous medieval style houses that date back countless centuries. Many of the newest buildings in town are still over two hundred years old and this allows Cockermouth to maintain its identity as a town truly transported in time. A visit to Cockermouth is like walking through a living, breathing diorama and a trip to the Market Square to a combination of a history lesson and an acid trip. The many years that Cockermouth has stood has created a veritable school-book of Architecture as one can see cobbled roads, Georgian houses, Victorian buildings and medieval roads with Roman roots all within one part of town. A trip to the outskirts of the town will reveal even more wonders including the ruins of old Norman castles and walls made of slate and stone.
One of the most astonishing things about Cockermouth, aside from the man-made wonders, is the prevalence of beautiful lakes that can be found all around the town. While the Cocker is no doubt the most imposing body of water, many lakes can be found just a few minutes from the town including such beauties as Loweswater, Ennerdale, and Bassenthwaithe. This creates a very scenic view but unfortunately other problems arise due to Cockermouth's prevalence of water; the town is at a high risk for flooding and floods have in fact damaged many parts of town throughout the history. More immediately, two major floods struck the town during the first decade of the 2000s. One of these floods took place in November of 2009 and the water rose to over eight feet and destroyed the beloved Lorton Bridge. Over two hundred and fifty people lost their homes in that incident and it was merely a footnote added to what came before and what is to surely come later. Despite this, Cockermouth soldiers on. Instead of lamenting the damage caused to an old edifice, the residents of the town simply see the floods as yet another part of history and another mark that shows what the town has seen and been through. This is truly an admirable quality and one that seems to be in no short supply in Cockermouth.
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