One of Cockermouth's most prominent buildings took "spot the difference" to the extreme this week as it received a peculiar Tour of Britain-themed makeover.

Contractors Bell Group UK, who are sponsoring the project, began redecorating the front of Wordsworth House with temporary wallpaper of green spots on a white background today.

The quirky scheme is part of the town's celebrations for stage three of the Tour, which starts in the town on Tuesday.

The eye-catching display, inspired by the King of the Mountains jersey worn by the event's leading climber, certainly draw interest to the Main Street building as locals and visitors stopped to check they weren't day-dreaming.

Christine Green, of Marvejols Park, looked bemused as she passed and said: "I think it's striking, it's good that Cockermouth is doing things to welcome the cyclists."

The house’s usual shade of terracotta limewash will return in about a week, but in the meantime manager Zoe Gilbert said she hoped it would inspire people to visit for a closer look.

She said: "Wordsworth was the original king of the mountains – he tramped the Lakeland valleys and fells for most of his life and celebrated their beauty and power to feed the soul in countless poems – so it seemed entirely appropriate to decorate the house accordingly.

"If bikes had existed in his youth, we think he would have been an enthusiastic cyclist too.

"We see this temporary change as a good way to draw attention to the house and inspire people to visit, as well as to spread the word about the work of the National Trust to encourage people to get outside more and enjoy our beautiful countryside on foot or by bike.

"The town of Cockermouth is really looking forward to welcoming the Tour of Britain and we wanted to play our part in the celebrations.

"We’ve been working closely with our decorators, Bell Group UK who are sponsoring the project, so there will be no cost to us, and I’ve been really impressed by the careful on-site and lab-based testing they’ve undertaken before confirming that we can go ahead with this."

The National Trust, which owns the building, will open the house up to the public for free from 1pm to 5pm on Tuesday, with visitors encouraged to dress in period costume for a photograph sitting on a penny-farthing bicycle.

There will also be art and craft activities for families and slow bike races from 3pm to 5pm.