UKC

Going on a trip to the Lake District in a few weeks time. Does anyone know if this is accessible to the public or whether to go on it you have to go through the organisation? And by that I mean this:

http://www.honister.com/

In reply to David Robinson: Hi David, I just did this at the weekend and it was brilliant. We asked the same question of the guide and he said that it is through them only as, apparently, it's private land (the cliff face and tunnels you need to go through).

We paid £40 for the extreme version and, whilst maybe a little short, it was good fun. I'd recommend it.

Steve

hi,
You can also do it through other smaller companies too, but you do have to pay. (mobile adventure are pretty good)

In reply to David Robinson:
Much of it is on open access land, so despite what they tell you, you can go there for free. The normal route to the start goes through their tunnels, and is private property, but apparently you can get there by a different route.
The question would be whether it's worth the hassle - the effort spent in getting there could be spent on getting somewhere better instead.

In reply to David Robinson: The actual via ferrata bits are on the slate mine land, therefore you need to pay to access. There are other public walking routes up to the top of the mine, that would provide access to the via ferrata, but you would need to do it out of their working hours to not get caught trespassing. We did the extreme earlier in the year and it was awesome, well worth paying for. If you want to use their route then pay for it, trying to do for free is just plain cheeky!

In reply to deb_the_reb1:

You sure about that? As far as I'm aware a substantial part of the VF is on Access Land - freely available for recreation on foot.

And what about the bits of the VF that were found to have been constructed on a SSSI? Have they been moved?

In reply to andyathome:



As I understand it the above ground sections are on access land, only the mine workings are private. Using the fixed gear like the cables and step irons would be taking the piss, a bit like jumping on the Go Ape at Whinlatter without paying. As far as I'm aware there's nothing to stop you doing the above ground sections as long as you don't use the gear. I'm pretty sure you won't be made welcome by the Honister staff if you meet them en route though..

In reply to Ridge: That's correct. Only the very bottom of the via Ferrata is not on access land. This mean you have to enter (and leave) at the top. Be discrete, don't touch the cables and there will be no problems.

In reply to I'd rather be climbing: £40 for a via ferrata well worth it? Dear god!

In reply to deb_the_reb1:

As cheeky as constructing a VF on someone else's land without planning permission?

(As far as I'm aware, the mines only own the mining rights to the land the VF is on, not the land itself - apart from the area immediately around the buildings and car parks)

In reply to Rog Wilko:

Clearly outstanding value. After all, you'd never be able to hire an instructor to take you climbing for that.

In reply to David Robinson:
Not been there, but my understanding is that the exciting Go-Ape style stuff in on private land whereas the rest of it is more of a protected walk crossing open-access land. If you want to do the former then pay, but the latter falls in the same category as a line of bolts.

Of course the other aspect here is that of supporting a local business finding novel ways of bringing employment to the area. On the other hand many people have issues with this particular business.