So. We are looking at a week away in Autumn half term up in the North Lakes with 3 other mates and their families. Will be sneaking the bike on the roof and biking will be good from both – but Keswick better for Borrowdale in particular.

Without wishing to prejudge, apart from the fact that the house looks really nice, is there any advantage to going to Wigton? Googling ‘things to do in Wigton’ didn’t exactly inspire confidence!

Convince me it’s worth at least considering.

There is absolutely, totally, 100% no advantages to going to Wigton.

Seriously, avoid it, its a sh*thole.

Keswick on the other hand is lovely 😀

Is wigton the one that really stinks?

is there any advantage to going to Wigton

There’s a lady there who’s lawn I used to mow who makes awesome cakes and insisted that every time we visited we took a couple away with us.

Aside from that, nothing.

Keswick deffo better holiday destination, have a look at cockermouth area also, probably better value than Keswick, with the lakes on its doorstep and lots of restaurants/nice pubs etc to make it a good destination

Wigton normally beat Keswick at rugby. Apart from that, Keswick every time. You could always have a day out in Wigton, if you’re deranged…..

For the truly authentic west coast marra, living on benefits, smack head, staring in to the abyss experience try Maryport

Is wigton the one that really stinks?

Yes, plastic film factory. Keswick every time.

If you’re considering Wigton I can strongly recommend Barrow-in-Furness.

WIGTON, WHAT THE ACTUAL ****

Now… come on… it isn’t that bad.

I mean – it isn’t Frizington.

(I actually can’t decide which of the west-coast towns is worst – Barrow-in-Furness is certainly in the junior league compared to those further up the coast! The locals up that way claim Scaryport, I am not quite so convinced)

I went to a rugby league game somewhere on the Cumbrian Coast that was a proper shithole. Think it was either Workington or Whitehaven.

Workington has a post apocolyptic ambience that is hard to match and cleator has the look of an abondoned siberian military installation occupied by flesh eating zombie sports wear fanatics. So you’re spoilt for choice.

On the other hand – some parts of the North Lakes are very nice – Welton and Dalston for instance – you don’t pay the premium prices for staying in the national park.

On the other hand – some parts of the North Lakes are very nice

Indeed – Cockermouth FTW, but jam eater baiting never gets old

Wigton wtf +1.
I’m from workington! Wigton makes Workington look like a sprawling cultural metropolis……
The jameaters in Whitehaven however…I daren’t say… ( btw my mother is a Jameater) 😀 😉

how do you offend 100 guys from whitehaven and 100 guys from workington – call them jameaters..

TBH having lived there a while I wouldn’t holiday much outside the 595…

Wigton is full of Chernobyl mutations. If you visit make sure you wear appropiate PPE.

Mosedale,Mungrisedale, Caldbeck & Hesket Newmarket are nice. Mungrisedale is a good base for mtb.

Have you considered Spayt, marra?

Up the west coast, they call a ‘high five’ a ‘high six’. Marra eh.

Hmmm. I’m still undecided….

Obviously not. A mate has suggested it as its cheaper and the house is bigger but he’s a tight arse who used to go on holiday to Silloth! I do like Cockermouth and north east lakes villages like Bampton, Greystoke and the like but its Keswick FTW as it’s a better rainy-day-with-kids option (relatively speaking) and some cracking boozers. What made me laugh was Tripadvisor has four places to visit in Wigton and the most popular gets one star. I might send him to Cleator Moor instead….

Thanks for the confirmation.

Cumbria, eh?

I had a look round the Innovia Films plant a couple of years ago. Very interesting. It’s the cellulose film process that smells. Made from wood/paper, it’s useful because you can dye it pretty colours and when it’s scrunched, it stays scrunched – yer quality street wrappers are cellulose film.

They are the guys that make the plastic substrate that plastic banknotes are printed on. Including the UK’s in a couple of years’ time.

Wouldn’t live in Wigton, though, even if I was working there!

Wigton eh?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/raymond-hull-drug-dealer-dad-3009937

We had a bloke in our jail from Wigton a few years back & when I did his induction & asked him where he was from, he said ‘capital of England, Wigton’.

WTF!

Haha, this did amuse me when I saw the thread title !
Wigton born and bred here, although I escaped to Carlisle a good few year ago. Wigtons not a bad place really, there is a lot worse places you could live (like Aspatria / Maryport / Workington, well, anywhere in west Cumbria really) … would I stop there for a holiday over Keswick … No !!!
If your wanting to stay somewhere in the north lakes then you won’t go far wrong with Keswick, or even Cockermouth. Both are decent little towns with plenty going on and things to do and see.
Have fun !

Wigton isn’t normally mentioned in the same sentence as “holiday”.

Senor J, I may know you (ex Seaton 20+ years ago).

Essel, there’s nothing quite like Cumbrian home-town pride.

quote: ‘Wigton isn’t normally mentioned in the same sentence as “holiday”‘

I know. Mate’s a bit odd to be honest. I’m not sure he could stand the excitement of the pencil museum. I remember going to Workington for the first time for work and couldn’t believe amount of people of a working age knocking about on a mid-afternoon on a week day. Frightening…..or were they all on holiday. 😀

to be fair to wo kin tn there are a lot of people on shift work up there along with the rest…

It was one of the villages near cleator which had goats tied up on the verges and a guy drinking stella on his doorstep at 8am

I teach the offspring of the fine folk of Frizington and Cleator and commute through them everyday. Must make me some sort of mssionary. It’s a position I enjoy.
Keswick not Wigton.
Melvyn Bragg’s from Wigton.

Mike, I can tell you’re not local. It’s Wuk-i-tn. Land of marmalade and honey.
<jameater>Cleator is a bit special, but then it’s near Whitehaven</jameater> and Maryport’s marina is twinned with Puerto Banus!

Right now I feel obliged to start singing “The river Derwent is deep and wide…Hallelujah…”

“The river Derwent is deep and wide…Hallelujah…”

It is without a bridge 😉

and yes I don’t have a marra keyboard

Crell – you may know me :wink:….I left in 1991 – I go home very often though.

Mikewsmith – how dare you! We now have two new bridges!! 🙂

O.p. -top thread ,albeit hijacked somewhat….
honestly , stay in Keswick. 😀

If you can find somewhere around Caldbeck or Hesket Newmarket that would be better. Loads of really under ridden trails around there, good access to the northern fells and belting runs up Skiddaw.

Hesket has a community owned pub and brewery so you can drink your own body weight in Doris’ 90th Birthday ale.

If your budget allows, Rose Cottage is a nice 2 bed property (might be too small) which is behind the pub, on the green. Lots of room to store bikes as well.

I reckon the northern fringes of the Lakes are under biked and crying out for a decent bike bothy / bunkhouse for MTB’s and roadies.