No. This is agreed to in the terms and conditions at the time of booking.
We will, however, issue you with a voucher which is valid for 12 months if cancelled 48 hours BEFORE the date of your activity. If you cancel WITHIN 48 hours vouchers will not be issued.
The Via Ferrata can be seen from a distance from a layby on the Buttermere side of the pass (binoculars recommended) however please be aware it is not always possible for people to spectate any of the adventures as this view is entirely weather permitting.
Yes. Located in the main visitor area. It is open daily serving paninis, soup, bacon sandwiches and homemade cakes with teas and coffees.
Whilst we try to cater for all dietary requirements sometimes it is not always possible.
No. The bus operates to take mine tour customers to the mine entrance only.
Keswick is 8 miles, Cockermouth 13 miles.
No. Currently our ISP provider is unable to provide this.
Green due to the volcanic ash nature of the rock.
On average 300 years.
No. The closest public phone is in Seatoller (at the bottom of the pass).
Yes. They are welcome in the café, shop and public viewing area.
They are not permitted on any paid activity.
If you are struggling to find a solution for your pet, then there are plenty of local dog walking companies around the area who will look after your pet for the day.
If the government enforce a lockdown on your local area, we will ensure you do not lose the value of your booking however you must inform us no later than 48 hours before your activity. We will issue you with a gift voucher for the full value of your booking, valid for 12 months. Which will allow you to reschedule online once the restrictions are lifted again. You will be able to make a booking for next year, should you wish.
Schools and Businesses are required to be Covid-19 secure organisations. As such, the current guidance is that they can bubble in groups of 15. We can accommodate multiple school or corporate bubbles. Please email bookings@honister.com, and we will be happy to discuss this with you.
Yes. All our adventures are designed to operate in compliance with social distancing rules, as well as all other current government guidance and legislation.
The responsibility for ensuring that social distancing is maintained at all times has to be a joint effort between Honister Slate Mine staff and participants.
Participants should courteously speak out where they see other participants not adhering to proper social distancing.
Customers are asked to respect social distancing rules and manage them themselves, as it is not always easy for patrolling staff to know which participants are in the same household. If you do have any concerns at any point, please make these concerns known to other participants and to our staff. Our instructors , guides and staff are there to help.
Customers will be instructed on how to fit their own harnesses themselves, under the close supervision of our instructors who will keep 2m distanced. Should instructors need to physically adjust the fit of a harness our instructors will be wearing a face mask.
If harnesses need adjusting whilst out on the course, our instructors will be wearing a face mask or will fit the harness from behind the customer so that no face to face contact occurs at close quarters. Parents will harness their children and themselves. A final safety check will be done by the instructor
The Government has enforced that face masks must be worn indoors so you will require masks to enter our buildings, however they do not recommend the wearing of face coverings in the outdoors. If you feel more comfortable wearing a face covering then you are able to do so at whilst on our activities..
We do provide gloves that must be worn on the Via Ferrata, Climb the Mine and Infinity Bridge, however we encourage customers to bring their own.
Should your booking not be able to proceed due to us being forced to close we will be happy to, free of charge, reschedule for a future date, or arrange a gift voucher for the full value of your booking, redeemable until the end of within 12 months. We hope you will support us by rescheduling
Following the latest government guidelines, we are now only able to accept individual bookings for group sizes of no more than 6 people from extended households.
We have been led by UK Government and relevant local authorities and have reopened in accordance with all updates from the Government in response to COVID-19.
We have reopened under limited capacity with reduced hours of operation and will continue to look at these measures on a daily basis.
We are excited to be welcoming guests back, and the health and safety of our guests and staff is always our number one priority. We have introduced a number of new additional hygiene and safety measures which guests will see throughout their visit.
Please be assured that we would work in close co-operation with the local health authority to support any direct enquiries to them and will act immediately upon their advice.
We also have contingency plans in place in the event that an employee or guests becomes ill, including an identified quarantine area, tracking where they’d been and who they’d come into contact with, and instigating a deep clean of affected areas.
We are also doing daily temperature checks, along with additional hygiene measures, including introducing a large number of hand sanitiser dispensers and additional deep cleaning measures. We have introduced new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements for a range of activities that our employees routinely perform. The use of such equipment and clothing by our employees is to protect our guests and our staff. All employees will also participate in COVID-19 specific training programmes prior to returning to work, instructing them how to stay safe as well as how to keep our guests safe.
At our attractions, we are required by the UK Government to hold and potentially share basic information about our visitors as part of contact tracing schemes including NHS Test Trace. This information will only be shared where necessary to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and support public health efforts. It also helps our attractions protect the health and safety of both staff and guests.
No. We provide all the necessary safety equipment required. (Helmet and harness/lanyard system). You must use Honister’s own equipment due to our strict equipment maintenance & testing.
No. We currently do not have a zip wire, however late 2018 our plans for a zip wire (the first of its kind in the Lake District) were approved so please keep an eye out for further information that will be released in due course.
Average fitness level. Think of a 3-hour mountain walk. You will be moving for most of the activity at a steady pace.
Our experienced guides are on hand to assist and are fully trained to deal with all situations. Our aim is to encourage as many people as possible to experience our spectacular location while getting your adrenaline pumping!
Italian for “Iron Walk Way”
A via ferrata is the bridge between scrambling and climbing. It requires simple to use equipment and requires a relatively good head for heights.
Unlike climbing or bouldering, a via ferrata routes are usually marked out by metal rails and rungs embedded into the mountain.
It’s easy to follow and a great way to tackle otherwise impassable cliffs and ledges.
Often round in the French Alps or the Dolomites, via ferrata is commonly used for sport, you climb from the bottom to the top of a mountain or crag (pretty vertically) and walk back down again.
Historically, via ferrata was used to get between mountains – a way of taming an otherwise inaccessible ridge. One of the original used of via ferrata was that they were frequently used during the First World War to move troops and equipment across the mountains.
Yes. For safety, we have a strict restriction of 18 Stone (114KG), with a waist measuring no more than 43 inches and thighs less than 27 inches.
All our tours are with experienced guides. That have received full external and internal training to be able to lead groups up our routes.
Participation on the routes must be part of a supervised group with an internally trained guide.
It is strictly forbidden to access any part of the route without a guide.
Minimum participation age is 10 years and 1.3 meters tall,
Unfortunately, children (10 years – 15 years) must always be accompanied by an adult (16 +) on any activity.
One adult may supervise up to 5 under 16’s and the participating adult must be prepared to sign a disclaimer accepting responsibility for the children.
On average, 3 hours.
We will only cancel our activities in the case of Strong Winds or electrical storms.
Honister reserves the right to make any operational changes at any time which are considered necessary for safety or operational matters.
For safety reasons we may introduce amendments to the route or activity termination.
If the weather does force us to cancel an activity, we will endeavour to contact all customer prior to arrival and an alternate activity or an opportunity to rebook will be offered. Refunds will not be given.
Cameras/Mobile phones are not permitted on the via ferrata route due to health and safety, you must be able to use both hands whilst climbing.
‘Go Pro’s’ may be used if attached to a one of our helmets, or via a chest mount.
This must be checked by the guide. A select few of our helmets have the mount attachment on the helmets, these are available on a first come first served basis.
They cannot be hand held or attached to wrists/clothing.
We would recommend dressing for cold weather most of the year! Plenty of layers is recommended and strong footwear.
Heeled boots/shoes are not suitable to be worn onsite anywhere and open toed shoes/sandals will prohibit participation on any activity.
Honister does have the right to refuse admittance if inappropriate clothing is worn.
We would always recommend wearing gloves for our activities, please make your clothing choices appropriate to the weather conditions!
We are in a very remote location and failure to come equipped may affect your experience at Honister!
Please remember it is always much cooler in the mountains than down at sea-level.
We welcome everyone to Honister; however, whilst our activities are designed to be accessible to most people, they do offer a degree of physical and mental challenges.
For some people with additional needs this may mean that additional equipment and/or persons will be required for safe participation, unfortunately due to the terrain and nature of the mountain we cannot permit wheelchair users on our tours as they involved 40 uneven steps.
Our visitor centre is wheelchair friendly and access for all toilet facilities can be found in our café.
If you are unsure or have any questions, please get in touch info@honister.com or 01768777230
Mostly ground level as you go into the mine horizontally, the mines in Honister crag span 10+ miles, created through over 250 years of mining.
No. our tours are in tunnels that may require a person to bend/stoop for short periods of time & the tour also includes 30/40 steep steps. This is all walkable.
Our experienced guides are on hand to assist and are fully trained to deal with all situations
Yes. We recommend night setting, with flash enabled, please note video recording is not permitted on the tours.
Temperature is a constant 51 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 degrees Celsius, please come prepared for the weather.
Good warm jackets, waterproofs and strong footwear are recommended.
Heeled boots/shoes are not suitable to be worn onsite anywhere and open toed shoes/sandals will prohibit participation on any activity.
Honister does have the right to refuse admittance if inappropriate clothing is worn.
Please make your clothing choices appropriate to the weather conditions!
We are in a very remote location and failure to come equipped may affect your experience at Honister!
Please remember it is always much cooler in the mountains than down at sea-level.
Yes. We offer a wide range of slate products to purchase. You can view the site here www.honistergreenslate.com.
If you have something in mind that you cannot see please email sales@honister.com as we pride ourselves on being able to produce custom and bespoke pieces our of beautiful Westmorland greenslate.
On average 3 hours but it can take longer if you require a design included, please email sales@honister.com with any enquiries. Or you can design it yourself and purchase online at https://www.lakedistrictslate.co.uk .
Yes. We use either parcel or freight depending on weight.
We do not recommend it.
We use a silicone sealant on all our slate products.
FREE for Honister customers.
£5.00 per day per vehicle, if you are not a customer. This is refundable on the day against Mine Tours, Via Ferrata’s and Subterranean Climb The Mine, The Infiniti Bridge or Shop purchases over £10.00 retail value. Please present your ticket at the time of purchase.
Tickets are available from the Shop.
On leaving the B5289 the main entrance for customers wishing to park at Honister is at the front of our Visitor Centre. Turn immediately right for our main ”Visitors’ Car Park”, turn left for the “Overflow Car Park”.
We do not recommend you use our coach/wagon entrance as the track is not suitable for passenger vehicles.
Coaches are welcome to park at Honister free. We have lots of space, but please phone ahead and we can help with traffic flow.
We regret no overnight parking unless previously arranged and is charged at the day rate.