Slate extraction on BBC's 'Mountain'

Last night's episode of the BBC Mountain series had an interesting section on slate mining. Set this week in the Lake District, presenter Griff Rhys-Jones toured the peaks and valleys of the area discussing the usual suspects (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Arthur Wainwright, Kendal mint cake) before thinking out of the box a bit and meeting Mark Weir, who a few years ago bought Honister Slate Mine. The mine had been closed for years, yet despite knowing nothing about slate mining whatsoever Weir put everything he had into reviving it, even to the extent of working 24-hour shifts at the face in pitch darkness. There were some dramatic shots of the mine interior, a section of which Weir is now planning to carve into an amphitheatre.