Honister Slate Mine

Cost: Mine tours from £25 each
Ages: 6 to 15
Where: Keswick, Cumbria
Weather: Works in the rain
Booking: Book ahead in the holidays

Honister is a working slate mine at the summit of the pass between Borrowdale and Buttermere, and the guided mine tour takes you properly inside the mountain: about 50 steps down into hand-carved passages, vast chambers, original tools, and a mock explosion for good measure. Tours last around an hour and a half, cost from £25 a head, and take all ages, though under-16s need an adult with them.

Book ahead in the holidays, and arrive 30 minutes early for helmets and headlamps, which are provided. The terrain underground is rough and uneven, so it is not one for buggies or wobbly toddlers. For older kids the Via Ferrata Classic follows the old miners' route up Fleetwith Pike, clipped to a cable the whole way: minimum age ten, minimum height 1.3 metres, from £55 each.

The drive up the pass is part of the day, steep and narrow with drops your passengers will narrate. The yard at the top, stacked with cut slate, feels like another century.

What it costs: Mine tours from £25 per person; Via Ferrata Classic from £55 per person, minimum age 10 and 1.3m tall. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Know before you go

It is cold in the mine whatever the weather outside, and strong shoes are non-negotiable - trainers with grip are the bare minimum.
The 10+ and 1.3m via ferrata rules are firm, so do not promise it to a nine-year-old.

What’s on at Honister Slate Mine

Santa's Secret Grotto at Honister Slate Mine

Honister Slate Mine, Honister Pass · Keswick

Selected dates, 14 November to 23 December

Santa, underground. A bus takes you up to a hidden entrance, you walk lit tunnels past the elves' workshop and the sleigh chamber, make a wish and get a gift, then come down an underground sledge slope. The mine's own words are that it sells out every year without exception, and at the top of Honister Pass in December, check the road before you set off.

£30 to £60 a person by date, under 1s freeBook early, sells out every yearIndoor option

Written by us

Worth knowing: Mine tours take all ages; via ferrata is strictly 10+ and 1.3m tall.

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