Cool Place of the Day: Via Ferrata, Cumbria

Every day, a new place to discover or explore from coolplaces.co.uk

Via Ferrata, Cumbria

We like a spot of hiking, and are happy to scramble up a steep slope now and then. But there is no better adrenalin rush in the Lakes than ascending Honister’s Via Ferrata – a climbing and scrambling experience inspired by the Via Ferrata of Italy and the Alps that won Cumbria’s Visitor Experience of the Year a couple of years ago.

The route takes you along the old slate miners’ path to the top of Fleetwith Pike, the 2,000-foot-plus summit rising above Honister Slate Mine. You’re clipped onto a guide wire for safety, and have trained help for company, but other than that it’s up to you – negotiating hand grips, cliff-face ladders, bridges and narrow pathways. Look down at your peril. It’s open to all abilities (you don’t need any climbing experience), but be warned that it’s not for the faint-hearted.

There are two routes, both of which take around three hours: the "Classic" and the scare-yourself-daft "Xtreme", which adds a daunting rope bridge and scramble net into the mix, just in case you thought the whole thing wasn't challenging enough. As for Honister, it’s an amazing place, with lots of different adventure-based activities, despite being the only working slate mine left in England – still extracting Westmorland Green Slate as it has done for centuries.

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