Rose Cottage, Threlkeld - Path to Keswick
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Footpath

The railway from Penrith to Keswick and on to Cockermouth used to pass nearby Threlkeld, but was closed down in the 1960's.
Thankfully, the old trackbed was turned into a footpath, re-using the old series of bridges and most of the tunnels.  This not only made a lovely level path direct into the middle of Keswick, but it has also been incorporated into the Coast-to-Coast (C2C) cycle route across England.

Unfortunately the floods in December 2015 undermined one bridge and washed away another, putting the path out of action for  five years:

The washed-out bridge on the C2C path, in the floods of Dec 2015

The path was renovated and improved, finally reopening in December 2020. It is now fully accessible, with a well-graded entry section at the Threlkeld end and a tarmac surface for its entire length.

Tunnel and bridge on the old railway path into Keswick
The picture above is taken from Tall Guy's Flickr photostream, before the flooding. The following comment is made under this photo:
When we arrived at our camp site near Keswick, we had an early tea and went for a walk. I'd spotted a path not far from the camp site, it led down by a river.. the path soon came to an old Iron railway bridge.. the tracks were gone and replaced with a path. We walked along the path which was the old Keswick railway line, it was quite a joy. It went across old iron bridges crossing the river Greta time and time again. We walked through railway cuttings and through woods before emerging out to see the mountains of the Lake District.. a lucky find on our first night :-)

At the Keswick end the "big tunnel" was originally filled in and the raised boardwalk was built to bypass it:

Wooden trestle path on line of old railway

However, one aim of the reconstruction was to stay as close as possible to the route of the railway, and the big tunnel was found to be in good condition even after 50 years of closure, so it was emptied and fitted with lighting, and the boardwalk removed:

View inside big tunnel, renovated and lit
(from John "Hiker Biker"s page: Keswick Railway Footpath Reopens, used with permission)

This is a hidden gem, well worth exploring!
 
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