A POPULAR Lakes tourist attraction was once again given national profile as part of a Simon Reeve documentary on the national park.

Honister Slate Mine, near Keswick, featured in the BBC 2 documentary The Lakes with Simon Reeve on Sunday night as the documentary explored the more industrial side to the mine.

The crew filmed the working side of Britain's last remaining slate mine, looking at how the world-famous Honister slate is still taken from the mountain by the team at the site.

The documentary looked at how Honister Slate comes with a 300-year guarantee due to its reliability and has even been used within the building of Buckingham Palace.

Activities manager Prentice Wilkinson-Wier said: "It was great to have Simon visit Honister and the Lake District.

"The in-depth look at the development of industry over time has really helped to showcase what Cumbria and The Lakes have to offer, rather than just being a tourist destination.

"Simon and his crew were a really genuine, easy-to-work-with team and we look forward to any other future projects we can get involved with."

One of Cumbria's biggest employers was also featured in a the documentary as Simon took a tour of Sellafield.

The journalist toured the site to look at the way Sellafield is decommissioning the site.

Speaking to head of operations Richard Edmonson and head of legacy ponds for Sellafield Ltd, Dorothy Gradon, as well as employees, Simon tried to get this head around the day-to-day workings of the nuclear site.

Matt Legg, media relations manager for Sellafield Ltd, said: “Simon’s production team approached us earlier this year when they were researching ideas for the show.

“They were keen to understand the history of Sellafield, our current operations, and the role our site plays in the wider community.

“Simon was genuinely fascinated by the incredible work going on every day to create a clean and safe environment for future generations. I think his enthusiasm came across really well on the show.

“We’re proud to have played our part in bringing our amazing county to a wider audience.”