Keswick to Threlkeld
Go to online mappingFrom - to: Keswick to Threlkeld
Type: Disused railway path, fairly flat and traffic-free
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The ride begins in the car park of the swimming pool at Keswick and continues along the trackbed of the old Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith railway - an easy ride through the beautiful tree-clad Greta Gorge which is ideal for traffic-free family rides. Eight bridges engineered by Thomas Bouch, designer of the ill-fated Tay Bridge, take the route across the river Greta. Part of the route runs along a wooden boardwalk installed when the path was renovated in 2000.
Keswick lies at the west end of the path, sandwiched between Derwentwater and the Skiddaw Massif. A locally important market town, it now doubles as a thriving centre for outdoor activities. If the surrounding fells and lakes are not attraction enough, it also boasts the Cumberland Pencil Museum, the Theatre-by-the-Lake and Castlerigg Stone Circle.
Threlkeld, at the eastern end, is a village in the shadow of the Blencathra mountain with a quarry and mining museum.
Download a route description sheet.
Local attractions:
- Cumberland Pencil Museum, Keswick
- Theatre by the Lake, Keswick
- Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick
- Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum
Bike hire: