Cool Places
Honister Slate Mine
Honister Pass Borrowdale CA12 5XN
England’s last surviving working slate mine – high on Honister Pass, above Buttermere and Borrowdale – has become something of a local adventure centre. There’s a visitor centre (and shop) that tells you all about the slate-mining business and its long history in these parts, and you’ll see craftsmen still working Honister green slate in the traditional manner. For more excitement, join one of the underground, hard-hat mine tours that set off several times a day, traipsing through hand-hewn caverns and edging along old miners’ trackways – advance bookings are essential. And for real thrills don’t miss Honister’s separate adventure, the daredevil climbing route known as the Via Ferrata.
