The Keswick to Threlkeld (K2T) railway path was a superb facility that was destroyed by Storm Desmond in December 2015. The project to reinstate it is important to the local community as well as the many visitors who used it every year. It is also one of the most scenic sections of the C2C cycle route.

The rebuilding is forecast to cost over £6 million. The public are being asked to raise £300,000 to demonstrate the desire to have it re-opened and I want to do my bit to contribute towards that total. Once we have demonstrated that commitment, the rest will be funded by government, companies and other bodies. The fundraising is being co-ordinated by the Lake District Foundation, a charity furthering sustainable tourism in the Lake District. I hope you will support me. 

So what am I going to do to justify you giving your hard earned cash to this project? Answer: I plan to walk the full route of the old railway from Penrith station to the former Keswick station. This is around 30km (18 ½ miles). Though 30km is a reasonable walk, it is not a lot by Lake District standards. However, the real challenge is that the line has largely disappeared and is mostly on private land. I will therefore need to determine a route that most closely follows the old line, either by getting permission from the landowner to use the actual route, or by finding the nearest footpath or road. Where bridges or larger sections are missing I will need to find an alternative. Of course, the Threlkeld to Keswick section has been washed out (hence this whole project) and I will follow the approved alternative route. I expect the final route to be closer to 40km, and quite difficult walking in places where it has become overgrown. I will have to walk it once or twice in sections to establish the best route. I then plan to walk the full length in one go at the end of June. That’s the challenge!

Thank you very much for reading this far. And thank you (I hope) for your sponsorship. 

If you would like to know more about the project, go to

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/caringfor/localcommunities/northern-lake-district-area/keswick-to-threlkeld-railway-path 

http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/862937/Consultation-Event-2_A0_Final_nomarklowres.pdf 

https://lakedistrictfoundation.org/keswick-to-threlkeld/