Visitors to Keswick Convention are thrilled the event is on the combined Pencil Factory and Rawnsley sites for the very first time. This is a momentous year as the three-week Convention has moved onto the Pencil Factory site which is undergoing a major transformation. During the Convention (July 17 – August 6), meetings are being held in the factory’s former Packing Hall, as well as on the newly refurbished ground floor of the Pencil Factory and also a relay tent and youth tent on site. Keswick Methodist is also a relay venue. A village green area has been created on the site with an awning, picnic benches and a huge chair, made from wooden beams from the former factory.
For the next owner of Shill’s in Cockermouth, the glass is more than half full. Shill’s of Cockermouth is a popular multi-faceted business combining three main elements in perfect harmony and is currently on the market for £800,000. Downstairs, there is a shop selling artisan cheeses, fine wines and handcrafted chocolates. Upstairs, linked via a snug area, there is a cafe-restaurant, offering a readily changing breakfast, lunch and evening menu ideal for everyone. The restaurant seats approximately 66 people and has a five star rating with the Allerdale Environmental Health Dept. Seamlessly linked to both the shop and restaurant is the bar, with its carefully selected wine list, which are available to purchase in the shop below.