It’s official – the Lake District is getting an new underground zipwire. After two years of rejections and opposition, plans for the ride at Elterwater Quarry have been given the go ahead by a high court judge.
The ‘Cavern Explorer’ experience will see series a of steel staircases and platforms installed across the quarry’s famous cavern, known as the Cathdral Cave, with ziplines taking visitors from one platform to another. Apparently, it will let visitors explore parts of the cavern that were previously inaccessible. The plans also include a visitor centre and information boards at various points of interest, which planners promise will be ‘created sensitively and in keeping with the surrounding environment’.
The proposals were submitted two years ago by Burlington Slate, which owns Elterwater slate mine, and Zip World, which runs several zip line experiences across England and Wales. In the application, Burlington Slate said: ‘The proposed experience at Elterwater will provide a blend of heritage-based adventure through the caverns and offer a unique immersive experience within an underground mine that dates back to the middle of the 19th century.’
It was rejected when the plans were first submitted in 2023 but approved the following year. That decision proved controversial, though. Shortly afterwards, campaign group Friends of the Lake District (FLD) attempted to put a stop to the whole thing via a judicial review that lasted two days back in April. It argued that that planning permission had been wrongly granted and that the adventure experience would ‘take us a step closer to a Lake District of noise, chaos and degraded landscapes’.
The judgement from that judicial review, published on October 15, ruled in favour of the Lake District National Authority, meaning the zip line still has the green light to go ahead.
The charity is now considering whether to appeal the most recent decision. Michael Hill, the CEO of the organisation, said: ‘This ruling is a setback for the Cumbrian landscape, but in our 90 years’ history Friends of the Lake District has seen many of those.
‘We remain unbowed in our determination to campaign for a Lake District that is tranquil, rich in cultural heritage and environmentally healthy and for protections in law for this and other National Parks to be maintained and strengthened.’
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, an advisory board to UNESCO, has also voiced opposition to the zipline. It said that the attraction would threaten the tranquility of the area and ‘would transform the quarry or part of it into a theme park and would trivialise the experience of an important aspect of the Lake District’s heritage’.
Those against the attraction worry that could lead to the removal of the Lake District’s UNESCO world heritage site status (just like what happened to Liverpool Docks in 2021).
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