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othing beats clambering about over rocks and zipping down a flying fox line. If you’ve got a head for heights, then England’s very first Via Ferrata (‘iron route’) has opened at the head of the Honister Valley in the Lake District.

Slate miners first secured the pegs in the awesome crag at Honister last century, in order to get to the famous Westmorland Green slate. Today, their iron ladders have been supported with modern safety lines allowing intrepid climbers to follow in their footsteps.

Scramble through tunnels, walk along Roadrunner-style cliff-edge paths, climb cliff-face ladders and walk rope bridges. At the Fleetwood Pike summit, breath air at over 2,000 feet above sea level and see the rare view described by the famous guidbook author and fell walker Alfred Wainwright as “the loveliest part of England,” before clipping your harness into the zip wire and making a James Bond-style exit.

No experience is needed and kids as young as 10-years-old can clip on to the wire and head for the summit. It’s exhilarating, can take up to 3-hours, and will get your pulse racing and might just be the perfect way to experience the adventurous Lakes in their full glory.