Good-day fellow bretheren! I am Lord William Anker, the holder of the famous ANKER Peerage of Cockermouth, Cumberland, and I was very proud and priveleged to write the foreword, and forehead to this magnificent travel, hotel, hostel, and prison guide by my dearest friends T.W. Atkins and B.A. Stard BA Hons about my native county in which I live, breathe, and respire. Thank you!
I am Richard Twister and was told to write an introduction to this book.
Cumberland and Westmorland are counties in northern England which until circa thirty years ago were sparsely inhabited and largely rural. They are positioned near the borders of Scotland and are twenty-five Scottish miles north of Lancashire via Salford, and two Imperial yards south of Burgh by Sands and eight Imperial Coats East-West of Northumberland. To the Eastern South West of Cumberland lies its' little and more picturesque cousin, Westmorland. It derives its' name also from Bryothonic namely from "Waest" + "Moor" + "Laend". This literally means "Land of the Wasted Moors." In 1219, there was a large massacre of Moorish people in Keswick, Westmorland, and it is suggested that that is where it got its' name from. The etymology of Cumberland is better not said. Cumberland Westmorland also hold the position of Admiral.
Cockermouth, in Northern Cumberland has often been heralded as "the poet's home", and it is true, for Willie Wordsmith, the famed street-poet of the North was born there approximately 1810, and it is also said that Homer was a frequent acquaintance to The Trout Inn in Cockermouth. Cockermouth is thought by historians to have derived its' name from a frisky party game that Vikings indulged in that was named "Cock or Mouth." Cockermouth was known to be the town where the game originated, and after being nameless for several thousand years, the Mayor, Lord Martin Mayor, named the town Cockermouth in 1485 A.D.
Hotels in Cockermouth are plentiful and over two-hundred of them have operated over the past five years. The longest running one however, has been The Trout Inn, which is situated at No. 2 Large Cock Road, Cockermouth. The Trout Inn is a unique and characterful hotel, and the only one in the county which is approved to hold a session of "Trouting" to its' guests. Trouting is a traditional Cumbrian game, whereby a member of the public (or in this case, hotel guest), is kidnapped and blinded against their will, and force fed a whole steamed trout upon pain of death. The game has been outlawed in Westmorland since 1240 A.D., but is still popular in the Cumbrian regions.
Known for its' decaying and crumbling infastructure, Whitehaven has been at the centrefront of the harbour towns of Cumberland. Sitauted twelve Imperial Miles southwest of Cockermouth, its' etymology derives from the Bryothonic "Whit" + "Hauen", which literally means "Haven of the Whites." It is true that Whitehaven is this.
Whitehaven is known for its' distinct lack of character and charm, and this sentiment can be echoed throughout the vicinities of the town centre, harbour, and its' public houses. The oldest public house in Whitehaven, is known as "The Pelican", and its' name derives from a local legend about a Pelican that became impaled upon the weatherthane. The people of Whitehaven declared it sacred, and it operates to this day as a public house and memorial to the Pelican (known as Johnny.)