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Thirlmere Reservoir, Central Lakes


After as massive campaign lead by fellow cyclists, the West road of Thirlmere Reservoir is open again meaning we can all once more enjoy the 10 mile circler ride around the shore! It is quite astonishing to think now that the road was closed for over two years after a rock fall at Rough Crag. It got a little bit ridiculous as legally horses could not be excluded from the road closure (Traffic Regulation Order) and cyclists started to still ride the route, but openly said they were riding the route as their bike identified as a horse! Myself and my friend Bridget were invited to ride the road when it was still closed to test it out and to show how silly the situation had become. Of course we were more than happy to help and were featured in the local press!   

The Cumberland New 2 February 2024

There are lots of car parks around Thirlmere, but for this ride I will start it from the Swirls Car Park off the A591 and would recommend doing the ride anti-clockwise. This route takes in quite lanes, forest tracks, a short section of road verge, one main road crossing and a road underpass. The shore of Thirlmere and surrounding fells are Section 15 Land under the CROW Act (Countryside and Rights of Way Act) meaning horse riders have open access rights to this land and are therefore just as welcome as other users (more info on Section 15 land can be found here https://www.rombalds-riding.org.uk/rights-of-way/current-issues/.  This route is also excellent for walking, cycling and off road wheel chair users. 

From the car park there is a handy underpass of the A591, which bring you out on the shore trail where you head north and meander through the trees and eventually come out on the A591. Here you need to go on the grass verge for a short section until you pick up the road to the reservoir dam. There are currently restrictions on who can use the dam road, so its nice and quiet traveling over this impressive engineer feature, which boasts these impressive facts:

  • Both the reservoir and aqueduct took four years to build and were opened in 1894.
  • Thirlmere aqueduct is the longest aqueduct in Britain. It transports water 153km from Thirlmere reservoir in the Cumbrian hills to Manchester.
  • It can carry up to 227m litres of water a day. Thirlmere is the longest gravity-fed aqueduct in Britain – there are no pumps along the route. Water flows at about 6km an hour and takes just over a day to reach the city.
  • The aqueduct runs in tunnels for around 80km and through cast iron pipes for another 72km. The first tunnel at the start of the route is the longest at 5km and runs under Dunmail Rise.
  • Thirlmere reservoir's dam is 261m long with a maximum height of 20m. There's a 5m wide road along the top between stone parapet walls. It can hold up to 39,000m litres of water (facts from https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/infrastructure-projects/thirlmere-aqueduct-and-reservoir )


Once off the dam you come out with Raven Crag fell above and then head south on the West road of the Thirlmere. Hopefully this will be quiet too, but you will see lots other people enjoying this relatively flat route for Cumbria! 







The West shore road brings you out at the Southern end of Thirlmere and road junction of the A591. This has good sight lines and you cross here to join up with the forest track that takes you back to Swirls car park. This is a very pleasant forest track with great views of the fells and the reservoir. This ride is great for a rainy day or in autumn and winter when you need a ride that has good surfaces under hoof, wheel or foot. A route to be enjoyed and cherished after its long closure. 

Things To Note 

Parking - Swirls Car Park, Thirlmere, Keswick CA12 4TW. This is a pay and display car park with 45 spaces and public toilets.  OS map grid reference location: NY 31675 16883 or  What3Word location: ///gifts.valid.trackers 

This route can be popular so like many parts of the Lakes best to go early, mid week or in the evening and do lots of 'Be Nice Say Hi' when you meet fellow users. 

If you have time (but more likely a ride for another day) from the West road you can take the forest track up to Harrop Tarn, which is a really fantastic spot for a picnic or a swim, but the water can be very cold! I would advice not to take the bridleway up to Harrop Tarn as this is extremely steep and rocky and for now on my list as a no go bridleway. It should also be noted that the bridleway from Harrop Tarn to Watendlath in Borrowdale is very challenging too. From Harrop Tarn to the fell wall it is very stony and tricky and Blea Tarn to Watendlath it is very boggy and the path is hard to find. A route that in my opinion should only be done on horseback after a period (several months) of very dry weather. 

Harrop Tarn


The bridleway on the east of the reservoir up to the Helvellyn fell range from the church up to Birk Side is very challenging and for me currently this is also a no go bridleway with a horse. In recent years the lower section of the route before Birk Side has been stone pitched, with the primary aim for those on foot rather than on a bike or with four hoofs and for this reason until work is completed to rectify this the route is a no go trail for me and my horses. 

More info on this ride can be found on the Facebook Group Ride Cumbria and routes are public routes on the OS mapping app/website.

** With thanks to my friend Liz Davison for riding and ground truthing the route on the North East side of Thirlmere Reservoir **




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