Festival-goers enjoy music at last year's event. Photo: Stuart Holmes

Organisers of a major outdoor festival taking place in the Lake District this month have welcomed the early reopening of the national park’s main north-south road.

Cumbria County Council today opened the restored A591 between Dunmail Raise and Thirlmere, enabling festival goers to avoid a long detour.

The road had been closed since parts of it were washed away in severe floods last December, making travel between Keswick and the rest of the Lake District difficult.

Keswick Mountain Festival is expecting about 20,000 visitors at the event, which begins on Thursday, 19 May.

Within weeks of announcing its largest programme of events to mark its 10th anniversary, the success of one of Cumbria’s major events was put in jeopardy by the devastation caused by the winter storms.

The road’s reopening, three weeks earlier than expected, will make it easier for thousands of visitors to explore Cumbria during the festival, and for the big names who are signed up to appear, such as Julia Bradbury, James Cracknell and Bjorn Again, and chart toppers Scouting for Girls and Toploader.

Festival director Nicola Meadley said: “Most important of all, the early reopening of the A591 is fantastic news for the whole Cumbrian community.

“Keswick Mountain Festival has always worked closely with local businesses, tourism organisations and individuals, so we have been acutely aware of the huge and sustained impact of the storms.”

“When the devastation hit, we were fortunate that our event was some months away.

“Nevertheless, it seemed certain that the festival would face some serious issues, particularly given the ambitious plans that we had outlined for our 10th anniversary. The good news is that the positive messages that organisations throughout Cumbria have been communicating all along have been heard and people haven’t been deterred from booking tickets.

“Now that the A591 is open again, thousands of visitors will discover for themselves that this beautiful area is ready to welcome the world again this summer.”