A vital link across Dunmail Raise will return on February 16.

Cumbria County Council has announced plans for a public bus service on the A591 connecting Keswick and Grasmere.

Services will use the temporary road which is being built to bypass 'The Gap' on Dunmail Raise.

Forecasts for high winds over the next few days are set to delay completion of the temporary road.

The crane needed to install the second Bailey bridge cannot be operated in high winds. They delayed the installation of the first Bailey bridge earlier this week.

The bus service, operated commercially by Stagecoach, will connect with existing bus services at Grasmere. 

It will operate on an hourly basis from 7am until 7pm six days a week, with a two-hourly service on a Sunday between 10am and 5pm.

It will be a journey of 45 minutes, cutting the existing journey time between the two locations by almost two hours. 

Users of the service will also benefit from significantly reduced ticket prices. 

Pick up and drop off points will be at all the usual 555 service stops, with the exception of those between Wythburn Church and the Dam road end on the closed section of the A591 alongside Thirlmere.

Engineers want to monitor how the road copes with the shuttle bus before making any decision to allow more traffic on it.

County councillor Keith Little said: "This will be a significant step forward, people will have a fully operational bus service providing an important connection between north and south.

“I appreciate people may be frustrated that we will not be opening the road up to private traffic at the same time, but we have to follow the advice of our engineers and their advice is that we have to see how the road holds up before we can make that decision.

"It’s not ruled out, but we can’t make the decision right now.”