This is another favourite birding walk that I like to do when I visit the UK to see my family in Cumbria. This write up was done for a trip in June/July 2000.
Old Keswick Railway Line Nature Walk
This 2.5 mile walk runs from near Threkeld to the old railway station in Keswick and can be accessed from either end. There is better parking in Keswick - follow signs for the Leisure Centre, which is next to the station. We actually started at the Threlkeld end, by first leaving a second vehicle at the station in Keswick. We took the A66 Penrith to Keswick road and turning south on to a minor road at the sign for the Youth Centre and Castlerigg Stone Circle. Just over the bridge you will see Newbridge Cottage on the left. Park by the access gate to the walk, opposite the cottage.
The route of the old railway crosses the River Greta several times and is lined mostly by mixed woodland. We were there on a rather cold, drizzly day, but managed to see 22 species of the usual woodland birds, but unfortunately not the dippers this time - we had seen 3 in the river on a previous trip in Oct 99. What we did see on the river was a common sandpiper and grey wagtail, working over the stones, along with the ubiquitous mallards. The trees were full of long-tailed, blue, great and coal tits, blackbirds, chaffinches, robins, goldcrests, wrens, wood pigeons and the occasional goldfinch and treecreeper. We were very pleased to see 4 song thrushes, especially an adult feeding 2 fledglings at the Keswick end of the walk. This species has suffered a serious decline in recent years in Britain, and on our trip in the summer of 98, we only saw one thrush in the whole 3 week period.
Walking through the outskirts of Keswick, we saw several jackdaws and the usual town residents - house sparrows and starlings.
After completing the walk, we retreated to Abraham's Tearoom on the upper floor of George Fisher's outdoor pursuits shop, for a very welcome lunch, and then finished off the day with a look at Derwentwater. On the shoreline in the pouring rain, we found pied wagtail, about 60 greylag geese and 2 Canada geese.
22 species for the day
Added on 9th March, 04
We did this walk again in Sept. 03, so I thought I'd add on another location for the Dippers. In the first paragraph, I mentioned Newbridge Cottage, where we parked at the beginning of the walk. On the same side of the road as the cottage (ie: across from the gate into the Railway Walk), there is a footpath across a field to a stream, where we had spotted some ducks. On investigation they turned out to be Goosanders, but around the bend in the stream we found 2 Dippers. I was quite surprised, as I had thought they preferred rivers and streams with faster, rushing water, like the Greta River.
A few days later we found Dippers again in a similar quiet stream at the National Trust's Acorn Bank, just off the A66 between Penrith and Appleby.
Old Keswick Railway Line Nature Walk
This 2.5 mile walk runs from near Threkeld to the old railway station in Keswick and can be accessed from either end. There is better parking in Keswick - follow signs for the Leisure Centre, which is next to the station. We actually started at the Threlkeld end, by first leaving a second vehicle at the station in Keswick. We took the A66 Penrith to Keswick road and turning south on to a minor road at the sign for the Youth Centre and Castlerigg Stone Circle. Just over the bridge you will see Newbridge Cottage on the left. Park by the access gate to the walk, opposite the cottage.
The route of the old railway crosses the River Greta several times and is lined mostly by mixed woodland. We were there on a rather cold, drizzly day, but managed to see 22 species of the usual woodland birds, but unfortunately not the dippers this time - we had seen 3 in the river on a previous trip in Oct 99. What we did see on the river was a common sandpiper and grey wagtail, working over the stones, along with the ubiquitous mallards. The trees were full of long-tailed, blue, great and coal tits, blackbirds, chaffinches, robins, goldcrests, wrens, wood pigeons and the occasional goldfinch and treecreeper. We were very pleased to see 4 song thrushes, especially an adult feeding 2 fledglings at the Keswick end of the walk. This species has suffered a serious decline in recent years in Britain, and on our trip in the summer of 98, we only saw one thrush in the whole 3 week period.
Walking through the outskirts of Keswick, we saw several jackdaws and the usual town residents - house sparrows and starlings.
After completing the walk, we retreated to Abraham's Tearoom on the upper floor of George Fisher's outdoor pursuits shop, for a very welcome lunch, and then finished off the day with a look at Derwentwater. On the shoreline in the pouring rain, we found pied wagtail, about 60 greylag geese and 2 Canada geese.
22 species for the day
Added on 9th March, 04
We did this walk again in Sept. 03, so I thought I'd add on another location for the Dippers. In the first paragraph, I mentioned Newbridge Cottage, where we parked at the beginning of the walk. On the same side of the road as the cottage (ie: across from the gate into the Railway Walk), there is a footpath across a field to a stream, where we had spotted some ducks. On investigation they turned out to be Goosanders, but around the bend in the stream we found 2 Dippers. I was quite surprised, as I had thought they preferred rivers and streams with faster, rushing water, like the Greta River.
A few days later we found Dippers again in a similar quiet stream at the National Trust's Acorn Bank, just off the A66 between Penrith and Appleby.
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