Exactly five years after Storm Desmond hit Cumbria and destroyed the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway trail, the new and improved route was opened for the local community and visitors to enjoy.

To mark the occasion, two local school children from Threlkeld and St Herbert’s Primary Schools were the first through the Bobbin Mill tunnel which reopened for the first time in nearly 50 years as part of the £7.9 million project to fully reconnect the route.

The Keswick to Threlkeld Railway trail has been fully reconnected and enhanced, new picnic benches, seats and perches at viewpoints have been installed as well as new comprehensive on-site interpretation to fully tell the national park local history and heritage story of the trail and give information on local wildlife and flora and fauna. In 2015 Storm Desmond brought the worst floods the county has seen, with about 178.4 mm of rain falling in Keswick. As a result two of the original Victorian railway bridges that cross the River Greta and around 200 metres of path were completely washed away, Rawsomes Bridge was deemed unsafe and the well-used route between Keswick and Threlkeld was completely cut off.

As part of the design stage, a survey showed that the reconnection of the trail could be worth around £2 million to the local economy.

Richard Leafe, Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, said: “This has been the most ambitious construction project we’ve undertaken as a National Park Authority. It’s taken five years to complete due to the scale, but we’re thrilled to be able to reopen the trail on the anniversary of Storm Desmond. I’d like to thank all of our funders and project partners for their input and the local community for their initial fundraising and for their patience whilst the work was ongoing. I very much look forward to using the trail and seeing others make use of this fantastic safe, local route which provides a sustainable transport link between Keswick and Threlkeld.”