At the wild summit of Honister Pass (356 m / 1,167 ft), gouged into the flank of Fleetwith Pike, stands the last working slate mine in England. Walkers reach it near the end of Stage 2, descending the old Honister Tramway from the Drum House to Honister Hause. Opencast quarrying began here in the late 17th century, with the first documented mine opened in 1728 under the Fleming family; tunnels were driven deep beneath Honister Crag from 1870. The prized green Westmorland slate — metamorphosed volcanic ash of the 450-million-year-old Borrowdale Volcanic Group — has roofed buildings from local farmhouses to grand civic projects. After commercial closure in 1989 the mine was reborn in 1997 by local entrepreneur Mark Weir, who turned it into a working visitor attraction and, in 2007, opened the UK's very first via ferrata up the original miners' route on the crag. The site still produces slate and welcomes visitors year-round. Floodlit underground tours, a cliff-edge via ferrata, the Bait Cabin café and a slate showroom cluster at the pass, alongside YHA Honister Hause in a former quarry building.
Highlights
- Last working slate mine in England, producing prized Westmorland green slate
- Floodlit underground mine tours into Fleetwith Pike
- The UK's first via ferrata (opened 2007) up the original miners' route on Honister Crag
- The old Honister Tramway and Drum House winding-station ruins on the C2C path
- Dramatic slate-scarred face of Honister Crag (Black Star) above the pass
- Sweeping views down Borrowdale and back to Buttermere and the Ennerdale fells
At a glance
| Period | Industrial (since 1728) |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Daily in season; tours to a timetable — check honister.com. |
| Stage | 2 — Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite |
Before you go
Tours and the via ferrata must be booked ahead at busy times. Do not enter mine workings or scramble on the crags independently.
Take care
- Steep, rough climb up Loft Beck before the pass; exposed high ground with changeable weather and patchy mobile signal
- Underground tours, via ferrata and climbing are guided activities that must be booked in advance — do not enter mine workings or scramble on the crags independently
- The Honister Pass road is steep (gradients up to 1-in-4) and narrow; take care where the path meets tarmac
- In winter the pass road can be snowbound or closed and the tramway descent becomes icy
History
Slate has been won from the crags above Honister Pass for centuries. Opencast quarrying is documented from the late 17th century, and the first formal mine was opened in 1728 by the Fleming family, who worked the rock by hand with picks and wedges. Demand grew as Westmorland green slate gained a reputation for durability and colour; in the 19th century the workings expanded dramatically — underground galleries were driven beneath Honister Crag from around 1870, and self-acting inclines and a narrow-gauge tramway were built to lower slate to the valley. By 1888 the quarries produced some 2,598 tons a year. The 20th century brought decline as cheaper concrete and asphalt tiles spread; the mine endured wartime closure (1943–45), changed hands repeatedly, was bought by Alfred McAlpine in 1985, and ceased commercial operation in 1989. Local entrepreneur Mark Weir reopened it in 1997, restoring slate production on a small scale and creating a visitor attraction. Honister remains the last working slate mine in England.
Myth & legend
Legend haunts the heights above the pass: quarryman Moses Rigg is said to have smuggled stolen wad (graphite) and illicit whisky along the old sled route still called Moses' Trod, keeping a hideout high on Great Gable — where searchers later found the ruined walls of a small stone hut.
Geology
The slate at Honister belongs to the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, a thick sequence of andesitic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks erupted in the Ordovician period roughly 450 million years ago. The original fine volcanic ash and tuff was later compressed and heated during mountain-building, aligning its minerals so the rock cleaves into thin, strong sheets — true slate. Honister's variety is the celebrated 'Westmorland green' (more accurately a sea-green to blue-grey), coloured by chlorite and prized for resisting frost and weathering. The mine is cut into Fleetwith Pike (648 m), with the spoil-streaked face of Honister Crag (also called Black Star, c. 634 m) towering over the pass. Glaciation during the last Ice Age stripped the fellsides and exposed the workable slate seams that miners then followed underground.
Wildlife & nature
This is high, open fell country either side of the pass. Ravens and the occasional peregrine work the crags of Honister and Fleetwith Pike, while wheatear and meadow pipit nest among the boulders in summer; buzzards quarter the slopes below. Herdwick sheep — the hardy native breed of the central Lakes — graze the surrounding fells. The thin acid soils support heather, bilberry, hardy grasses, ferns and cushions of moss and lichen on the rock and old spoil, with stonecrop and other rock plants colonising the slate scree.
The view
The pass itself is one of the most dramatic road heads in the Lake District, hemmed by the shattered slate face of Honister Crag. From the tramway path and the Drum House there are sweeping views down Borrowdale and back towards Buttermere and the Ennerdale fells, with Great Gable, Pillar and Dale Head all within sight. The contrast of raw industrial scars — spoil heaps, ruined buildings and the old incline — against wild mountain grandeur is unforgettable, especially in low side-light.
Photography
Shoot the brooding north face of Honister Crag from the pass road, and the Drum House and tramway line with the fells beyond. Early morning or late afternoon light rakes the slate spoil and brings out texture; the green slate glows after rain. Looking down Borrowdale from the descent gives a classic Lakeland valley shot. The mine entrances, rusting machinery and stacked slate make strong industrial-heritage detail images.
When to visit
The visitor centre, café and shop are open year-round, seven days a week; mine tours and via ferrata sessions run daily but are weather-dependent and should be booked ahead, especially in summer and school holidays. On the C2C itself, late spring to early autumn (May–September) gives the best walking conditions. In winter the pass road can be snowbound or closed, the tramway path is exposed to wind and the descent is icy — but the crags under snow are spectacular. Carry warm, waterproof layers in any season; the pass is high and cold even in summer.
Getting there
Honister Pass is served seasonally by the Honister Rambler open-top bus (Stagecoach service 77/77A) linking Keswick, Buttermere and Borrowdale from spring to autumn — useful as an escape or shortcut if weather turns. There is parking at the mine. Keswick is the regional transport hub for buses; the nearest railway stations are at Penrith and Windermere, both some distance away.
Where to stay
YHA Honister Hause, a 26-bed hostel in a former quarry-workers' building, sits right at the pass beside the mine — handy for an early or late C2C arrival; note it is self-catering only and open seasonally (roughly March to October), with no meals served, so bring food and check dates before relying on it. The mine's own Bait Cabin café at the pass is the place for hot food and drinks. The stage proper ends at Rosthwaite in Borrowdale, which has hotels, inns, B&Bs and a campsite; nearby Seatoller, Stonethwaite and Keswick offer further options. Book well ahead in peak season (June–September), and consider baggage-transfer services, widely used on the Coast to Coast.
Food & water
Streams along Loft Beck and the becks descending into Borrowdale provide water on the fell (treat or filter before drinking). At the pass, the mine's Bait Cabin café offers refreshments and the chance to refill bottles (YHA Honister Hause is self-catering only and seasonal, so do not count on food there). Carry enough for the high, exposed middle section of the stage.
Safety
On the C2C, the approach over Loft Beck is steep and can be slippery; the high ground is exposed to wind and rapidly changing weather, with poor mobile signal in places. The pass road is steep and narrow — take care where the path meets tarmac. The via ferrata, underground tours and zip/bridge activities are run by Honister with guides and safety equipment and must be booked; do not enter mine workings or scramble on the crags independently. In an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue; for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111. The relevant team is Keswick Mountain Rescue.
Accessibility
The mine sits at the very top of Honister Pass and is reached on Stage 2 (Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite), a long mountainous day rated Hard; the crux is the steep climb up Loft Beck before the pass, after which the old tramway gives an easy graded line to the mine at Honister Hause, so visiting needs no extra ascent. The visitor centre, café, slate showroom and car park are reached by road (the Honister Pass road, gradients up to 1-in-4) and are broadly accessible. The underground mine tours involve uneven ground, steps and tunnels and are not wheelchair accessible; the via ferrata and climbing require reasonable fitness and mobility. Walkers arrive on foot via the steep, rough tramway descent. Check current dog policy with the operator before bringing a dog into tours or the café.
Visitor tips
If you have time and a head for heights, the via ferrata up Honister Crag follows the original miners' route and is the UK's first — book in advance. Even a short stop at the slate showroom and Bait Cabin café is worthwhile. The old tramway descent is a rare easy, well-graded stretch — enjoy the views down Borrowdale. The mine and hostel make a good bail-out point if the weather closes in on the high crossing.
Listen: the audio guide
The full narration of this stop's audio guide, in text.
You are high on the pass now, where the green road runs between crags and the wind never quite stops. All around you the mountainside is grey and scarred and glittering, and somewhere under your feet, deep in the rock, men are still cutting slate. This is Honister — the last working slate mine in England. Slate has been won from this pass since at least 1728, and probably long before the records begin. What the miners take here is the prized green Westmorland slate, a fine, hard-wearing stone with a subtle sea-green cast that has roofed grand houses and clad famous buildings far beyond the Lake District. Through nearly three centuries the trade rose and fell, boomed and very nearly died, and yet the mine survives — the only place in England where slate is still quarried and split in the old country. It sits astride Honister Pass, one of the steepest and most dramatic road-passes in Lakeland, ringed by high fells. For the walker on the long crossing of England, the mine is a startling thing to meet up here: raw industry set in wild mountain grandeur, human graft written straight into the bones of the hills. There is a bracing honesty to it, too — after the soft beauty of the lakes, here is a mountain that people have worked, argued with, and made a hard living from for three hundred years, and are working still. Here is what to look for. First, the great fans of slate spoil that spill down the fellsides, loose grey scree of broken stone tipped over generations, still shifting and clinking underfoot. Second, the mine buildings and the old inclines — the tracks and winding gear that once hauled the wagons up and down the mountain, some of it working still. Third, the pass itself: stand and feel how the land pinches to a high, narrow saddle, with the road falling away steeply on either side into the dales below. Fourth, look for the thin steel cables and rungs of the via ferrata, the cliff-edge climbing route that lets visitors clip on and cross the sheer rock face where miners once worked without a rope. Fifth, lift your eyes to the encircling summits — Fleetwith Pike close at hand, Dale Head and the ridges beyond — and understand that everything you see was shaped first by ice, and then reshaped by the pick and the blast. Watch, too, for the visitor tours heading down into the floodlit underground workings, where the mountain has been hollowed into a maze of dripping tunnels and vast dark chambers. Think, for a moment, of the men who made this place. Splitting slate is a craft of the hand and the eye, learned over years. A skilled river takes a block straight from the mountain and, with a broad chisel and a wooden mallet, coaxes it apart along its natural grain into leaf after thin, flat leaf, each one true and even. Too heavy a blow and the stone shatters and is wasted; too light and it will not part. Generation after generation of Lakeland families made their living up here in the cold and the damp, riving and dressing stone that would go out to roof the world, while they lived plain lives in the valleys below. When you next see a green slate roof, you may think of Honister. From here the Coast to Coast leaves the high pass and drops back into softer, wilder country. Ahead lies Ennerdale Water, the most remote and untamed of all the Lakeland lakes — no road along its shore, no village on its banks, only the mountains leaning over the water. Pull your collar up, take the pass steadily, and go carefully on the loose ground. Walk safe.
Common questions
How old is Honister Slate Mine?
Honister Slate Mine dates from the Industrial (since 1728) period.
How do I get to Honister Slate Mine?
Honister Pass is served seasonally by the Honister Rambler open-top bus (Stagecoach service 77/77A) linking Keswick, Buttermere and Borrowdale from spring to autumn — useful as an escape or shortcut if weather turns. There is parking at the mine. Keswick is the regional transport hub for buses; the nearest railway stations are at Penrith and Windermere, both some distance away.
What are the opening hours at Honister Slate Mine?
Daily in season; tours to a timetable — check honister.com.
Is Honister Slate Mine accessible?
The mine sits at the very top of Honister Pass and is reached on Stage 2 (Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite), a long mountainous day rated Hard; the crux is the steep climb up Loft Beck before the pass, after which the old tramway gives an easy graded line to the mine at Honister Hause, so visiting needs no extra ascent. The visitor centre, café, slate showroom and car park are reached by road (the Honister Pass road, gradients up to 1-in-4) and are broadly accessible. The underground mine tours involve uneven ground, steps and tunnels and are not wheelchair accessible; the via ferrata and climbing require reasonable fitness and mobility. Walkers arrive on foot via the steep, rough tramway descent. Check current dog policy with the operator before bringing a dog into tours or the café.
When is the best time to visit Honister Slate Mine?
The visitor centre, café and shop are open year-round, seven days a week; mine tours and via ferrata sessions run daily but are weather-dependent and should be booked ahead, especially in summer and school holidays. On the C2C itself, late spring to early autumn (May–September) gives the best walking conditions. In winter the pass road can be snowbound or closed, the tramway path is exposed to wind and the descent is icy — but the crags under snow are spectacular. Carry warm, waterproof layers in any season; the pass is high and cold even in summer.
Is there food and water at Honister Slate Mine?
Streams along Loft Beck and the becks descending into Borrowdale provide water on the fell (treat or filter before drinking). At the pass, the mine's Bait Cabin café offers refreshments and the chance to refill bottles (YHA Honister Hause is self-catering only and seasonal, so do not count on food there). Carry enough for the high, exposed middle section of the stage.
Where can I stay near Honister Slate Mine?
YHA Honister Hause, a 26-bed hostel in a former quarry-workers' building, sits right at the pass beside the mine — handy for an early or late C2C arrival; note it is self-catering only and open seasonally (roughly March to October), with no meals served, so bring food and check dates before relying on it. The mine's own Bait Cabin café at the pass is the place for hot food and drinks. The stage proper ends at Rosthwaite in Borrowdale, which has hotels, inns, B&Bs and a campsite; nearby Seatoller, Stonethwaite and Keswick offer further options. Book well ahead in peak season (June–September), and consider baggage-transfer services, widely used on the Coast to Coast.
What should I know before visiting Honister Slate Mine?
If you have time and a head for heights, the via ferrata up Honister Crag follows the original miners' route and is the UK's first — book in advance. Even a short stop at the slate showroom and Bait Cabin café is worthwhile. The old tramway descent is a rare easy, well-graded stretch — enjoy the views down Borrowdale. The mine and hostel make a good bail-out point if the weather closes in on the high crossing.
Is Honister Slate Mine safe to visit?
On the C2C, the approach over Loft Beck is steep and can be slippery; the high ground is exposed to wind and rapidly changing weather, with poor mobile signal in places. The pass road is steep and narrow — take care where the path meets tarmac. The via ferrata, underground tours and zip/bridge activities are run by Honister with guides and safety equipment and must be booked; do not enter mine workings or scramble on the crags independently. In an emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue; for non-urgent medical advice call NHS 111. The relevant team is Keswick Mountain Rescue.
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