Banishead Quarry
Adventure Cumbria, England
About Banishead Quarry
Banishead is a disused slate quarry on the lower slopes of the Old Man of Coniston, reached by a short but steady walk up from the A593 near Torver. The quarry floor holds a dark, deep pool fed by a waterfall that tumbles in from above — and that waterfall only exists because of an accident: at some point during slate extraction, miners broke through to one of the streams flowing off the Old Man, flooding the pit and ending operations for good. The result is a sheer-walled amphitheatre where the water surface mirrors both the cascade and the surrounding rock almost perfectly. Spoil heaps flank the path in, and an old wooden footbridge crosses Torver Beck just before you arrive. The broader site forms part of the Ashgill Quarry Site of Special Scientific Interest, valued for its exposed Ordovician rock strata. The steep scramble down to water level involves loose shale, so solid footwear matters.
Location & details
- Category
- Adventure
- Region
- Cumbria, England, United Kingdom
- Coordinates
- 54.35473, -3.11206
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