A591

The A591 provides an important north-south link through the Lake District, starting initially as the D2 Kendal bypass, before dropping to S2 and heading for Windermere and Ambleside. It then climbs through the pass of Dunmail Rise before dropping down along the banks of Thirlmere and so to Keswick. Here it ceases to be a primary route, but still continues north past Bassenthwaite to Bothel on the A595.

The middle section between Windermere and Keswick is one of Britain's best and most scenic roads, despite the permanent summertime traffic jam on the shores of Windermere – not the worst place to be stuck, to be fair!

Kendal Bypass

The A591 starts at a TOTSO GSJ with the A590 to the east of Levens, south of Kendal. The mainline of the dual carriageway that becomes the A591 starts at Junction 36 of the M6 as the A590. However that road then turns sharply to the west and heads for Barrow in Furness, letting the A591 take the strain past Kendal. It wasn't always like this however, as for several years before the A590 was upgraded, the A591 actually started on the M6.

A591 west of Kendal

As we head north, we are also in a Useless multiplex with the A6 which joins the A590 just to the west of the junction. Apart from a small at-grade junction with an unclassified road, the next junction is another GSJ where the A6 turns off and heads into Kendal. Our road sweeps around to the west of the town, finally reaching a triangular roundabout with the A5284 (former A591 from Kendal) and the B5284. The road briefly drops to S2 beyond the roundabout before another burst of dual carriageway west of Burneside. However, that is the last short section of dual for many miles.

Kendal - Ambleside

The route has been heavily upgraded with a bypass for Staveley, but then as we approach Windermere it seems that the money ran out somewhat. Not that there is a lot of room to build a new road in this hilly country, and as we enter the town we are firmly back on the original route. The A5074 turns off to the south at a pair of junctions, and then after a little under a mile we reach a broad crossroads where the A592 crosses.

The town has now been left behind, but this is by no means a rural road as we head north west, slowly dropping down to the shores of Windermere. There is near constant development along the waterside, resulting in a selection of speed limits. Then, as we make the final approach into Ambleside, the A5075 forks off to the left making a short cut to the A593 Coniston Road.

Soon after, we reach the first of a series of one-way links between the A591 and A593, as the two routes dance around each other through the narrow streets of Ambleside. Northbound traffic must follow Wansfell Road, Rothay Road and Compston Road, whilst southbound traffic passes through the Market Place and so onto Lake Road. Keswick Road in the middle provides a one-way west-east link. Once the two halves rejoin at the north end of town, the picturesque Bridge House, on of Ambleside's most photographed sites lies on the left spanning the tiny Stock Ghyll.

Ambleside - Keswick

North of Ambleside, the road remains narrow in places, although some sections have been improved. The Rydal Beck is crossed on Rydal Bridge, just before we reach the small village of Rydal with its tourist destination of Rydal Mount next to Rydal Water. Then, after a short burst through woodland at the lakes western end, we burst out onto the banks of the pretty Grasmere, made famous by Wordsworth and lined by hotels.

The village of Grasmere is off to the left, accessed on the B5287 which loops through and then at the northern end of the village our road starts the long haul up the pass of Dunmail Raise. This is by no means the highest, or most exciting of the Lakeland Passes, but it is probably the only one with a dual carriageway at the summit! It doesn't last for long, however, and soon the road starts to drop towards Thirlmere, with the smooth slopes of Hellvellyn rising up on the right. For a while the road runs along the lake's shore, but then it dips away and curves around the back of Great How, now lower than the water level in the lake on the hill's further side.

The A591 near Keswick

At Legburthwaite the B5322 forks right to form a rather slow eastern bypass of Keswick, but our road continues north west, crossing St John's Beck - the outflow from Thirlmere - and climbing once more with the aid of another dualled section. This particular section has a striking difference between the two carriageways, with northbound traffic using a new road while southbound follows the winding old road. The road then winds over more hills before dropping steeply into Keswick. Here there is a TOTSO with the A5271 which takes the roads original route (multiplexed with the A594 / A66 in turn) through the town. These days, however, we must turn right and head up to the GSJ with the A66 before multiplexing with it westwards to a roundabout where our journey continues.

Keswick - Bothel

The roundabout is located where the new Keswick Bypass (A66) crosses the old alignment of the A591. From here on our route is no longer primary, but a mere 'A' road. It soon becomes clear why, as while some sections have been widened and realigned the road is generally narrow and twisty as it winds along the contours at the bottom of the steep hills to the east of Bassenthwaite Lake. There aren't any real villages along the road, but plenty of farms and lonely cottages as we continue north west, the village of Bassenthwaite lying off to the right down a series of even narrower lanes.

Beyond the village, the B5291 turns off to the left to cross the foot of the lake and then our road does improve somewhat, but more thanks to the easier contours than anything else. With a wider carriageway and fewere twists and turns the road becomes a series of short straights and sweeping bends as we cover the last few miles to the A595 at Bothel, nearly 45 miles from out start point and every one of them very scenic!

History

Kendal

Originally started on the A6 in Kendal, but was extended when it become the number taken by the M6 link road when the motorway was built, until the A590 took over that route some years ago. The short section between Levens and the start of the Kendal bypass used to be the main A6 many years ago – there is a sign up there which is headed "A591 (A6)" which must make the A591 very pleased with itself!

Keswick

The A591 has never directly gone through Keswick itself it skirts the eastern outskirts of the town an area called Chestnut Hill then meets the A5271 (Penrith Road). At one time the whole of Penrith Road was numbered the A594 then later the A66 this meant that the A591 multiplexed with this road through the centre of Keswick with a TOTSO junction where it joined Main Street then over the River Greta by the Cumberland Pencil works nearby which the A591 branched off the A594/A66 to the right and became the road that eventually leads to Carlisle. But when the A66 Keswick bypass was opened c.1976 everything changed the road through the centre of Keswick was renumbered the A5271 and the A591 tookover the old A66 eastern entrance to the town thus making the A591/A5271 a TOTSO junction for the A591 then the A66 and A591 multiplex along the Keswick bypass to the junction with the northern (Bass Lake) section of the A591 (the Carlisle road). Though for my past wouldn't it have been simpler just to renumber the road through Keswick as the A591 including the entrance from the A66 or renumbered this short stretch of road as A5271