Cycle rides with our children part two: Threlkeld to Keswick

To my mind this is the ultimate in child friendly Cumbrian bike rides. It ticks all my boxes - off-road, flat (amazing!), scenic, and somewhere fab to visit at the end of it.

Annoyingly I have no photos from the day we did it, so I am borrowing this one from Visit Cumbria  http://www.visitcumbria.com/kes/keswick-railway-footpath.htm hope they don't mind.

So the way to do it is to park at Threlkeld, and don't fret about this, there is an old school or community hall, can't remember which, but it's well signposted with plenty of car parking and handily some toilets. Leave the car there then head off on bike or foot (plenty do) through the village towards the Keswick turn off of the A66. Just to the right of the big turn off is a path that goes down to the track.

The track is actually part of the old Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith railway which no longer exists. It has been made into a terrific bike and walking trail with some gorgeous old railway bridges to cross. It's about four miles in length so it will test the little ones but there are lots of places along the River Greta where you can stop and rest and throw in stones. You'll never be alone on this ride, it was suprisingly busy with other riders and walkers when we went, but the atmosphere was really nice and cheery. The great thing about it is that it comes into Keswick right near Fitz Park a perfect place to stop for an ice-cream and play before setting off back again - or alternatively sending mummy or daddy back to get the car!

Cycle rides with our children - part one: featuring a fairy tale castle, billy goats gruff bridge and a deep dark wood

Now that our kids are both on two wheels we've been looking out for cycle rides we can do together as a family that avoid the trecherous Cumbrian roads while not taxing our 4 year old's little legs too much. Route number one is a winner on these fronts as well as being interesting, fun, and luckily - right on our doorstep.

Welcome to Lowther Castle. How about this for a country pile?

Sadly it's a ruinous pile. The castle built in the 17th century by the first Earl of Lonsdale (though home to the Lowther family in different forms since time immemorial), was abandoned in 1937 after the excesses of the 5th Earl, and the roof removed in 1957. It's fortunes are on the up though and a project is about to start to protect the facade and create a visitor attraction. Details of the exctiing project are available from http://www.transforminglowther.co.uk/

Our cycle ride started in Lowther Park on the road to Askham. We parked on a verge oppostite the castle, then headed down over a delightfully noisy bridge across the river Lowther, then through the autumnal woodlands to Lowther caravan park, where we had a sneaky play on the swings. Fantastic!