Threlkeld

At the foot of Blencathra

Threlkeld sits below Blencathra, looking across to St John’s in the Vale and Clough Head at the northern end of the Helvellyn range. It is four miles east of Keswick, just off the A66.

It is a thriving village rather than a quiet one: a church, a school, two pubs, a golf course and a cricket club, with a small playground and playing field opposite the school and a public car park just above on Blease Road. The village hall has been refurbished with a coffee shop looking out to Clough Head and the Helvellyn range.

Getting to Threlkeld

By car
Just off the A66 between Keswick and Penrith, and fifteen minutes from junction 40 of the M6. A small public car park sits above the village on Blease Road.
By bus
On the X4 and X5, which link Penrith, Keswick, Cockermouth and Workington.
Bus times and routes
By train
The nearest station is Penrith, and the X4 or X5 runs from there into the village.
On foot or by bike
The Keswick to Threlkeld railway path runs traffic-free into town, and the village is on the C2C cycle route between Workington and Sunderland.
The railway path

While you are here

do
Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum
In the quarry across the A66 from the village. An underground tour of a realistic mine, mineral panning, and enough for a whole family afternoon.
Underground tours
Plan a visit
do
The Keswick to Threlkeld railway path
Three traffic-free miles along the old railway line beside the river, over the iron bridges and through the tunnel. Reopened in December 2020, five years after Storm Desmond took it out.
Traffic-free
Walk it
do
Up Blencathra
Rocky ridges for scramblers and easier ways up for everyone else. The small car park beyond the Blencathra Centre at the top of Blease Road gives a good leg up, with the gentler route over Blease Fell.
From the village
Walking routes

Threlkeld village and its fields framed by bare winter branches with Blencathra above

A base for the eastern fells

Threlkeld is well placed for the Lake District and the Eden Valley both, with walking that runs from an ascent of Blencathra or Skiddaw down to easy riverside miles.

The Threlkeld Activities Association runs a programme at the village hall through the year, and keeps its own list of walks from the village.

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