'Honister Slate Mine'

Honister Pass, Borrowdale, Keswick, CA12 5XN.
Tel 017687 77230.

Location : Keswick
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 226135

Honister Slate mine is at the top of the Honister Pass in Borrowdale in the Lake District, and has just re-opened after a gap of 11 years. You can watch slate being riven (or split) using processes that have changed little over the past 300 years. Fully guided tours into the mine are available several times a day, detailing the history and spectacular features of the mine. The tour shows the current workings of the mine, and how a mixture of modern and traditional methods, is still extracting the slate which was formed some 400 million years before Tyrannosaurus Rex strode the land. After the tour tea or coffee is served in the Bait Cabin beside a warm fire.

Honister slate is a distinctive green slate, though Lakeland slate comes in a variety of shades and colours. It is a strong and durable material, excellant for roofs , and also for floors and walls. Slate was being exported through Piel Harbour in 1688, long before the opening of the Furness Railway in 1846. It was taken by packhorse over the western edge of Great Gable and Wasdale, for loading onto boats at Ravenglass. In the late 17th Century, it was used by Sir Christopher Wren at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, and at Kensington Palace.

The visitor centre has a series of information panels showing the history of the mine, its characters, its triumphs and its disasters.

The mine produces roofing slate but there is also the chance to buy smaller items made from slate in the shop.

The centre is open open all year round seven days a week. The cost of tours for next season (2007) is: £9.75 for adults, £4.75 for children, and £27.00 Family (2 adults 2 children).