Lake District Quarry - Zip line plans

[jonnybellman]

I've seen similar things like this have been setup in Wales, and the lake district already have a via Ferrara setup at Honister.

I'm curious to know what people's thoughts are about stuff like this?

Is it good for the mines? I.e. keeps them open and 'safe' for visitors. Or does it cause more harm than good?

Lake District quarry tourism plans backed by historical society - cumbriacrack.com

New proposals for a Lake District tourist attraction have been backed as it was likely to preserve the historical perspective of the slate quarrying industry.

cumbriacrack.com

 

[mikem]

Can go either way, depends on the management

 

[dougle89]

Whilst I think it would be good for the mines, I kind of agree that Elterwater is bad for road access. But no worse or better that Honister. I'd begrudge paying to go though 😅 so I'm in a similar place to @mikem , will all come down to how its managed, as its Holker estates I imagine it'll be used as a cash cow

 

[Flotsam]

I think the refusal by LDNPA for a similar proposal led to the resignation of Chris Bonington from the Friends of the Lake District organisation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-20962828

They seem to wish to fossilise the Lake District into a Beatrix Potteresque virtual world.

 

[Badlad]

When you consider the damage the mining has done to the landscape in the first place. The damage farming has done to it over a similar period, the monoculture of grazing sheep. The culture of honeypot tourism. How's a few zip lines going to make much difference?

 

[AR]

I recall a similar discussion on Mine Explorer over a decade ago, when Honister put forward a similar proposal - in fact, it was the subject of a BBC documentary (one of a series looking at issues/problems in national parks) which showed up exactly the same faultlines in opinions as this one. In the course of that ME discussion I suggested a bunch of us should go up there one night and set up the Mark Weir Memorial Zipline as a pirate job...

Looking on Wikipedia, I see they did get permission in 2018 for the Honister one.

 

[Mr Dinwiddy]

I recall a similar discussion on Mine Explorer over a decade ago, when Honister put forward a similar proposal - in fact, it was the subject of a BBC documentary (one of a series looking at issues/problems in national parks) which showed up exactly the same faultlines in opinions as this one. In the course of that ME discussion I suggested a bunch of us should go up there one night and set up the Mark Weir Memorial Zipline as a pirate job...

Looking on Wikipedia, I see they did get permission in 2018 for the Honister one.

Honister did get permission in 2018 but they never implemented it. So there is no zip line there today
They have recently re-submitted an application (to LDNPA) for a zip line in the same location but I think its a longer single line that goes straight to the car park whereas the 2018 version was 2 linked lines. Something like that.
whether its single or double line its the deceleration mechanism that worries me. If that goes wrong or fails to reset the deceleration would be terminal.

 

[Oceanrower]

The deceleration mechanism would, I’d imagine, be the TrueBlue zipSTOP.

It works on the same mechanism, using a magnetic braking system creating Eddy currents, as the autobelays found in pretty much every climbing wall.

The failure rate is, to all intents, zero.

 

[Cantclimbtom]

The deceleration mechanism would, I’d imagine, be the TrueBlue zipSTOP.

It works on the same mechanism, using a magnetic braking system creating Eddy currents, as the autobelays found in pretty much every climbing wall.

The failure rate is, to all intents, zero.

The thing that can go wrong is if the zip linee is caught by unexpected gusts of wind and/or the staff didn't add enough weight to a light and they aren't quite fast enough to hit the stop on a long zip line. Then they *nearly* arrive and go in reverse towards the lowest point. A member of staff has to jump on the wire and scoot out to get them back. On the plus side if that happens the customer gets a much longer "experience" so far better value for money 🤣

Sadly the failure rate of auto belays (mechanical failure not failing to clip in) on climbing walls is not zero. Example https://www.climbing.com/news/fatal-autobelay-accident-at-sydney-climbing-gym/ but it's a rarity for sure!

I find the things very disconcerting, never liked the feeling of not being tight before lowering, but I'm a wimp.

 

[Philgom]

I think the refusal by LDNPA for a similar proposal led to the resignation of Chris Bonington from the Friends of the Lake District organisation. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-20962828

They seem to wish to fossilise the Lake District into a Beatrix Potteresque virtual world.

No, FLD's refusal to support the proposition was why Sir Chris resigned.
LDNPA have the problem of moving "things" on but not going so far as to lose the UNESCO world heritage site designation.

 

[Philgom]

Going back to the original post I think the proposal would be good for the quarry, not to mention Lucy Cavendish's finances. However it would not be good for the valley in terms of the likely considerable increase in traffic unless, say, all visitors had to use quarry provided minibuses or the like.
Incidentally Holker Estates can be real pains as in attempts to complete the coastal footpath in their area.