Honister Slate Mine is also a popular tourism attraction and one of the Lake District’s best places to visit. If you come along, you can try:

Mine Tours

We’re the only place in the Lake District where you can venture deep inside the heart of a mountain on a unique Mine Tour.

Our friendly guides take you on a spectacular bus journey and then lead you deep inside the mountain on foot. The tunnels are large and airy and there are no lift shafts.

You’ll learn all about the extreme hardships faced by the Miners of old, to the modern Miners of today.

Via Ferrata

Alternatively, try the award-winning “Via Ferrata Experience.” This is cliff-edge walking/climbing experience which is unique to the UK and a great fresh air activity in the wet or dry.

Our experienced staff guide you along the Victorian Miner’s footpath up Fleetwith Pike to see the fells and lakes like never before. It’s all safe and you don’t need prior climbing experience.

Sky Hi Café and Factory

Alternatively, just soak up the dramatic views– we have plenty of parking and you can grab a drink and a bite to eat in our cosy Sky Hi Café. You can watch our Factory at work and see how our products are made using age-old techniques which would have been lost forever had the mine not been rescued by the late Mark Weir in 1997.

Shop

Browse our large shop and check out the range of slate items and get a unique gift. Head outdoors and you can see our range of Memorial Stones, Garden Products or our Fill Ya Boot offer where you can “fill ya boot” with as much slate as you like for just £20 – ideal for rockery and crazy paving projects.

Getting Here

We’re situated in the dramatic Borrowdale Valley at the head of Honister Pass on the B5289. This is one of most scenic roads in England which is eight miles from Keswick and around 14 from Cockermouth. We’re between two spectacular lakes – Derwentwater and Buttermere – so make a day of it. We'd love to see you!

This area also has its own bus service – the Honister Rambler 77/77A service (Mid-April to 30th October).

Find out more about a visit to Honister Slate Mine by going to our sister tourism site - www.honister.com