The entrance to Hodge Close Quarry is incredible. It has wild Indiana Jones vibes, with giant boulders and dense forest dripping in moss, that lead you all the way up to the towering quarry walls. It might have been man-made, but there’s no question that nature is reclaiming it. It’s worth visiting for the entrance alone, but once you get inside, the wows keep on coming.
On a calm day, the lake perfectly reflects the sky above and the cavern opening cascades with water, which break the silence and give lots of extra atmosphere.
The walk to reach the quarry is very short, but it’s not signposted, so we have you covered on directions below.
The walk to Hodge Close Quarry
The stats
Distance: 530m each way
Elevation gain: 50m
Difficulty: Easy-moderate
The walk to reach the quarry has one short steep section, but is otherwise almost entirely flat. The terrain is mixed, with some rougher sections, with rocks and tree roots. However, they are not for long stretches. These sections can be a little slippery when wet, but if you take it slowly, it’s not too bad.
We went on a dry day, but as it had rained for the previous few days, everything was still saturated. Despite this, I never once felt like I would slip (I did make sure I was going slowly and carefully on the descent though).
Starting the trail: to the viewpoint
Whilst there are no official lookouts for the quarry, there are two spots which are well worth taking a look at before you head down into the quarry itself.
From the parking area (details below) you need to head left along the road. After 80m you’ll see a large dirt patch on the right.
From here you can look down into the quarry which is a good view, but not the best.
To reach the more impressive view you need to follow the narrow path into the wood on the left. It does have a little rocky section, but it’s only 70m to the lookout.
From here you get a birds-eye view of the flooded quarry, and on a still day the surrounding cliffs and trees create a mirror image in the water - although the reflection is definitely more spectacular once you get into the quarry itself.
I wouldn’t say you need to have the reflection for the quarry to be impressive, but if you are keen to see it you want to aim for a wind speed below 3 m/s - preferably 2m/s and lower.
Any higher and the water ripples and distorts the image. The closest place we could find to the quarry to check the windspeed is Coniston, and you can see the results for the week ahead here. No forecast is ever perfectly accurate, but this website works out for us more often than not.
Once you’ve checked out the views of the quarry from above, you retrace your steps back to the road to continue the walk.
Heading into the quarry
Continue heading down the road and after roughly 150m you’ll reach Hodge Close Cottage.
Pass the cottage and you’ll almost immediately (40m) see a turning on the right, which is signposted as ‘High Oxen Fell’. Take this path and after 50m you’ll see a small hut on your left.
Almost directly opposite this hut, there is a trail on the right, leading downhill. If you’re not looking out for it, you could easily miss it - just look for the gap in the fence and you’ll see the subtle path beyond.
On first glance it looks precarious, but as you get close, you’ll see it’s a proper, if slightly rougher path. However, you are only 250m from the quarry itself and it really doesn’t take long.
The first 50m are the steepest and pass some old stone buildings which are now ruins. However, there are steps and rocks that stop it being a difficult descent, especially if those rocks and steps are dry.
After this, you’ll continue heading downhill, but it’s more gentle and a better trail. You’ll also enter a truly fabulous bit of forest.
I had no idea that the quarry would be in a spectacular little patch of woodland. The trees are dripping in moss, and on our visit in autumn, they were interspersed with some colourful leaves on the ground too.
The track flattens and the last last few minutes are the most wild and wonderful. Giant mossy boulders lead towards the quarry opening, which sits at the bottom of the giant cliff walls.
I honestly wasn’t expecting such an amazing scene. The last few minutes can be a little muddy, but nothing too awful - I wouldn’t wear shoes you want to keep spotless though.
Exploring the quarry
You’ll enter the quarry and immediately see a bit of machinery leading towards the water. You can climb through it to get to the water’s edge.
We were lucky enough to get a beautiful reflection in the water, although unfortunately not the skull reflection that this spot is famed for.
We had the right wind, so I can only assume you need to stand in a slightly different spot.
There is another large opening to the left which was slightly flooded on our visit, but it might be from here that you can see the skull - if you’ve seen it, please let us know in the comments so we can work out where we went wrong!
Despite not seeing the skull, the reflection of the trees and cliffs was gorgeous, and the atmosphere inside the cavern is captivating.
It’s easy to see why it was picked as a filming location for The Witcher. One of the caverns has so much water dripping down it that I could imagine it almost turns into a waterfall after very heavy rain.
It’s a very cool spot and there are plenty of rocks to sit on and just take in the scene.
Once you’re ready to leave, you simply retrace your steps back to the parking area.
The best time to visit Hodge Close Quarry
Hodge Close Quarry is a pretty popular place and if you want to get it to yourself, you probably want to come early or late. For context, we visited on a weekday in October and there were around seven other people there. However, most seemed to come for a short amount of time, so we did end up with quite a long period where we got the quarry to ourselves.
This is when it feels extra special. There’s no noise, but the dripping water and it’s very atmospheric. It’s worth trying to get it to yourself if you can, either by coming early or late, or with plenty of patience.
In terms of conditions, if you want to see the reflection, then you’ll need low windspeed as mentioned above. A sunny day will also produce a deeper blue water colour, although we noticed that in autumn even by midday the sun hadn’t penetrated the quarry itself.
If you come after rain watch out for the track being a little more slippery. If it’s been extreme rain it’s best to avoid any quarries or caverns, due to risk of flooding.
Can you swim at Hodge Close Quarry?
If you’ve seen any of our other Lake District content you’ll probably know there’s often a wild swim involved in our walks. However, with this spot we didn’t swim. It’s known as an extreme dive site and though accidents seemed to relate to diving when I looked it up, I wasn’t confident swimming would be safe. There could be a lot of machinery left in the water and I didn’t want to take the risk.
Parking for Hodge Close Quarry
There is a parking area for the quarry, but it’s not very big - another reason to go early or late in peak season. The parking is free and is located at these coordinates: 54.405946, -3.055562, the nearest postcode is LA21 8DJ.
The closest town is Coniston, around 3.5 miles away and roughly a 10 minute drive.
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