This is what happened when reporter Bridget Dempsey explored the 400-year-old mines of Honister as she discovered what the county’s newest thrill-seeking experience had to offer.
For a person whose idea of physical endurance is pulling the corkscrew out of a bottle of sauvignon blanc on a Friday night, it’s fair to say I envisaged the ultimate Bridget Jones experience as I made my way up the valley to Honister’s newest ‘Climb the Mine’ attraction.
However, left after three hours feeling some what of the counties latest Helen Skelton after the amazing assistance of the whole Honister team as I made my way around the zip wires and obstacles of the course.
The popular Lake District attraction re-launched last Friday with bigger and better feature’s than ever before.
The Climb the Mine describes itself as ‘an adrenaline filled adventure deep inside the heart of a Lake District mountain’ which is fair to say is very accurate by all accounts.
Situated within the mine’s 400 -year-old caverns , the adventure has been extended to include a 50-metre run away zip-line, tunnel scramble, Tarzan swing and postman’s walk bridge.
The attraction has been a project of the Honister Teams during the time they have been closed over lockdown aimed at ensuring the best possible experience for visitors on arrival back to the mine.
Jan Wilkinson, director of Honister Slate Mine, said: “We already had the climb the mine, but it wasn’t actually as long and the tasks weren’t as great as our Via Ferrata Extreme and because we have had a very inclimate period and Covid we needed to make sure that we could look after all of the people who were booked on because they had vouchers for last year.
“We’re quite balanced people, we wanted to make sure that if it was inclimate that we could be running seven days a week really and this ticks all them boxes, there’s zip lines inside, there are jumps so you have got to be actually as brave as you do on the outside as you do on the inside.”
They have worked really hard to get it up and running and I think you will hopefully agree with me that it ticks all these boxes.”
And tick all those boxes it does, the new and improved attraction is a real must for all, whether you may be a well seasoned adrenaline junkie or a complete novice like me. The course provides a chance for everyone to experience the adrenaline rush of doing such an adventure, whilst in the safe hands of the well experience and fantastic Honister team.
All who took part in the launch day were seen to be having a great time whilst partaking in what might be described by some as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, there was young and old donning their harnesses and giving in to the pull of Honister as we clipped and climbed our way through the array of obstacles on offer.
The whole afternoon was a delight with the ability to bask in the history of the place feeling like an honour.
The mine dates back thousand of years with fragments of it’s slate being found at the site of the Roman Bath House at Ravenglass and Hardknott Fort.
Prentice Wier, activities manager at Honister thinks that the Climb the Mine is a great new addition for not only Honister but the place as a whole. He said: “I think that the new attraction at Honister is a great thing for the Lake District because it is opening up to different age groups, it’s between eight and 50 we can take on so it’s just promoting the Lake District as a tourist hotspot which is really important after Covid because its revitalising the area.”
Climb the Mine is now open for bookings , with prices starting at £55 for the three-hour experience.
The challenge is great for a family day out, or adults who wish to do something a little bit different.
It is accompanied by the mines staple attractions of Via Ferrata Xtreme, which is the outside equivalent , as well as cliff camping and the mine tours that the business offers.
To book or find out out more about any of the experiences you can visit:https://honister.com/
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