Lots of events are planned for next week to celebrate the Cockermouth area's heritage.

Heritage Open Days are held throughout the country to celebrate history, architecture and culture.

Cockermouth and District Civic Trust has created a packed programme of local events, which start next Thursday, September 7, and run until Sunday.

People can enjoy pre-booked tours of Isel Hall, parts of which date back to around 1400, and Cockermouth Castle.

All Saints Church, off Kirkgate, and the Masonic Hall, on Challoner Street, will be open to the public.

The church will have an exhibition covering the 'Present, Past and Future of the Church'.

Visitors will also be welcomed at JB Banks Ironmongers, which dates back to 1836, and 14th century Percy House, both in Market Place, as well as Wordsworth House.

New for this year will be storytelling at the recently refurbished river confluence, off Brewery Lane, on Sunday, at 11am and 2pm.

On Saturday, an exhibition in the United Reformed Church, will celebrate 50 years of conservation areas.

The trust has created a new booklet to inform people in Cockermouth and Papcastle what their responsibilities are as residents of a conservation area.

It will be launched at the exhibition, from 10am to 4pm.

Phil Campbell, chairman of the trust, said people who own a property or live in a conservation area should regard themselves as temporary custodians of historic buildings for the benefit of future generations.

He added: "Both Cockermouth and Papcastle are lucky in that much of their historic character has been kept and it is important that future generations are able to appreciate this as much as we have.

"However, it is also important that they both continue to develop so as to meet the needs of the 21st Century without losing this character that makes them great places in which to live and work."

The booklet, which has been produced in association with Cockermouth Town Council, Papcastle Parish Council and Allerdale council, will be distributed to residents within the conservation areas.

Further afield, Derwentwater Independent Hostel, in Borrowdale, which dates back to 1787, will be offering guided tours on Sunday. Keswick's Theatre by the Lake will have an open day on the Saturday.

For timings and more details go to www.heritageopendays.org.uk.