Thornthwaite is a residential village that sits on the edge of the flat land between Bassenthwaite and Derwent Water, backing on to the Whinlatter Forest Park. The conversion of the old railway into the new A66 must have made the village very much quieter, as the old main road just to run along its eastern edge.
The western side of the village is the hamlet of Seldom Seen, which runs alongside Chapel Beck. The beck was one used to power both the Rachel Mine (a lead mine) and a saw mill. The villageis largely residential now, although it does host the Thornthwaite Gallery, an art gallery that has been open for forty years.
To the north of the village is the Bishop of Barf, a whitewashed stone in the middle of a scree slope on the lower slopes of Barf fell. This used to be kept painted by the Swan hotel, at its base, but that has now closed. Keswick Mountain Rescue do the job instead.
Directions: Thornthwaite sits just to the west of the A 66 north of Keswick, on what used to be the main road before the modern trunk road was built.
Grid Reference: NY 223 254
URL: http://www.knowledge.me.uk/areas/lakes/thornthwaite.html