Abseiling Sessions in The Lake District. Tuesday 31st March 2015.

On Tuesday, Iain was joined by Mark Coyle from Rochdale for a half day Abseiling Session in The Lake District.

Mark had been in touch with Iain some time earlier to arrange this abseiling session as he wanted to get some practice in.  The reason for wanting to do this is that Mark will be taking part in a charity abseiling session at some point in the near future.

Mark made his way to Kendal and then Iain provided transport from there to the abseiling venues. Today, we used the great gaping pits of Hodge Close and Cathedral Cavern - pretty much in the middle of the Lake District National Park.

There are three different abseil stations from which one can abseil into Hodge Close Quarry. Photo one sees Mark as he takes his very first abseil down the easiest route - a long slab, in to the quarry.

Photo two sees Mark making his way up out from the floor of Hodge Close Quarry. This is one of the largest slate quarries in The Lake District with the walls being up to around 130 feet in height. The floor of the quarry is flooded up to a depth of around 100 feet and there are many underwater passages radiating from it into the surrounding rock where there are no doubt more flooded slate caverns. Indeed, this whole area - Tilberthwaite as it is known, is a labyrinth of old slate quarrys, caverns & tunnels.

Hodge close is an excellent venue for abseiling sessions in The Lake District and we run them here quite regularly. The activity of Abseiling is very popular with Stag Groups & Hen Parties visiting The Lake District.

After we had completed Marks first abseil here, we moved on to a second steeper and higher abseil in Parrock Quarry. Parrock is another quarry linking into Hodge Close via the caves visible in the wall beyond the lake in this photo.

Mark wanted to have a go at abseiling from as many venues as it was possible to fit in during his half day (four hour) session with Iain.

After we had completed two different abseils at Hodge Close, we drove round via High Park Farm to visit Cathedral Cavern at Atkinson Coppice in Little Langdale.

Cathedral Cavern is a series of slate workings hewn out of the hillside here. There is another great open pit with vertical & overhanging walls and this is another recognised abseiling venue in The Lake District.

In photo three, Mark can be seen as he starts to go over the edge into this pit which consists of a steeply sloping ramp with a free hanging finish. The whole abseil is about 120 feet high and is quite a challenge.

Well done to Mark for managing all three abseils with ease and Iain is sure he will have no problems completing his charity abseil when it finally takes place.

Our final photo about this abseiling session in The Lake District is a fine view from the top of the abseil site over a great proportion of the open quarry looking over to Little Langdale; and in the distance, a snow topped Fairfield.

Abseiling is one of the most challenging activities we offer at Kendal Mountaineering Services - great if you want to push yourself and discover what you are capable of doing.

All of our instructors are very experienced in running abseiling sessions at many of the Lake Districts venues, so whilst you might feel nervous being asked to descend down some truly scary looking drops, you can be assured of your safety. As part of your fee, you will be provided with helmets, harnesses and appropriate footwear if you do not possess the walking boots we recommend.

Also, whilst you descend (abseil) using an abseiling device on a  rope your safety will be backed up with another rope which is attached to you and paid out by the instructor who uses this to safeguard you whilst you descend. Getting over that inital fear of decending backwards over the edge is the hardest thing about abseiling, but once you are over and sat in your harness, lowering yourself down quickly becomes a lot easier and a lot of fun.

Mark certainly enoyed his abseiling session in The Lake District with us and so can you. Prices start from only £20 per person, so if you are in The Lake District during the Easter Holidays and would like to give it a try - contact us here or give us a call on 07761 483364 to make your booking. We look forward to working with you