Top 3 Abseiling venues in the Lake District - Hodge Close Quarry
Top 3 Abseiling venues in the Lake District
Throughout the Lake District National Park there are many excellent venues to enjoy a dedicated abseil. As always, not all things are equal and for sure not all abseil venues are equal.
Firstly, hands down the south lakes is way better than the north lakes for this activity. Let’s hone in a little more on venues though.
Cathedral Quarry, Little Langdale: this is a dramatic place with an atmosphere that can feel intimidating to some, but inspiring to all. Also known as ‘The Black Hole’ this is a large and impressive disused slate quarry where in times gone by the beautiful Lakeland Green Slate was extracted in large quantities. Fast forward to more recent times and local rock climbers came along to develop routes on the sheer walls. The quarry is home to many extreme test pieces.
And for abseiling, it is an amazing place, perfect in every way. All the cliffs are at least vertical, some are overhanging. This makes for the best type of abseil.
However, to access the quarry does involve a walk of around 30 minutes each way and we appreciate not everyone wants this. So on to the next of south lakes finest……
Hodge Close Quarry, Yewdale: very close to Cathedral Quarry and with equally amazing rock structures and walls. This also shares the same rock type as Cathedral. There are a few advantages to Hodge Close over Cathedral.
Firstly, access is much easier, with an approach walk of only about 2 minutes. This means more time for abseiling.
Secondly, this is a less intimidating place and only in a good way. Hodge Close offers the same atmospheric qualities but delivers this in a friendlier manner. There are tunnels to explore for those who wish to do so and to exit the quarry after an abseil there is a short but really fun rock scramble - after heavy rain this becomes something more like a gorge scramble - added bonus fun!
Tilberthwaite Quarry, Tilberthwaite: this is located on the opposite side of the valley to Hodge Close Quarry and has a beautiful, open outlook. Access is easy, just a 10 minute walk on the track the quarry workers would have used. The walls here are still steep and this means it is still an ideal venue for abseiling (also great for rock climbing). The walls are smaller than the other venues and this makes it a more appropriate choice with youngsters or anyone feeling particularly nervous but still keen to experience an abseil.
So that’s a quick round of what we consider to be the top 3 Abseiling venues in the Lake District. There are of course plenty more options and these are scattered all over the National Park from Keswick to Patterdale to Eskdale and even Lindale in the sunny south.
Yesterday we had the pleasure of introducing a couple from India to this activity. They drove over from their current base in Newcastle and we met at Hodge Close Quarry. As is often the case, we set up a demonstration abseil away from the cliff edge. This allows participants to practice and understand how the systems work before they get close to any steep drops. We find this helps settle the nerves and simply makes for a better session all round.
As I had arrived nice and early, all the ropes were already set up, so we could then get straight into it.
I’ll let the photos do the talking on how the activity went.
We are starting to get booked up for holiday periods this year. So if you are planning a visit to this most beautiful part of the world and would like to try out any of our fun activities please do get in touch and let’s make a plan. All activities are tailored to best suit what you’re looking for.
It may be that you're planning a visit to ascend the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike. In which case please do check out our sister site Climb Scafell
Thanks for reading
Mark
Top 3 Abseiling venues in the Lake District
Top 3 Abseiling venues in the Lake District