West Avon Somerset Avon Country North Devon Climbs Coast Culm Mark Glaister A rock climbing guidebook to the best climbs Inland Cornwall in the West Country of England Text, computer artwork, layout, topos and editing by Mark Glaister, Stephen Horne and Alan James All uncredited photos by Mark Glaister Coast Atlantic Original ROCKFAX design Mick Ryan and Alan James Printed by John Browns Printers, Nottingham Distributed by Cordee (www.cordee.co.uk) All maps by ROCKFAX West Penwith West Published by ROCKFAX Ltd. July 2010 © ROCKFAX Ltd. 2010 www.rockfax.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in Lizard The a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright owner. A CIP catalogue record is available from the British Library. ISBN 978 1 873341 37 7 Inland Devon Cover photo: Rich and Sam Mayfield on Solid Air (VS 4b) - page 126 - at Gull Rock, one of the Culm Coast's many isolated sea-cliffs. This page: The steep and exposed Incubus (E1 5b) - page 367 - on the grossly overhanging Sanctuary Wall, Torquay, Devon. Climbers: Marti Hallett and Helen Dudley. Torbay Dorset Contents 3 Introduction........................... 4 Guidebooks.......................... 6 Acknowledgements.................... 8 Advertiser Directory .................. 10 West Country Logistics ................ 14 Camping ........................... 16 Somerset Avon Walls and Shops..................... 18 Pubs and Cafes...................... 20 West Country Climbing . 24 Access ............................ 24 North Devon Gear .............................. 26 Fixed Gear ......................... 28 Grades ............................ 30 Tides .............................. 32 Crag Table 1 ........................ 34 Crag Table 2 ........................ 36 Graded List and Top 50 ............... 38 Culm Coast Culm Avon and Somerset . 44 Avon Gorge......................... 46 Portishead.......................... 70 Split Rock Quarry .................... 72 Uphill Quarry........................ 76 Brean Down ........................ 78 Cheddar Gorge ...................... 84 Inland Cornwall North Devon ......................... 90 Baggy Point......................... 92 Lundy ............................ 102 The Culm Coast . 108 Blackchurch.........................110 Coast Atlantic Smoothlands and Dyer's Lookout........114 Screda Point and Speke's Mill Mouth .... 120 Gull Rock and Cornakey Cliff .......... 124 Vicarage Cliff and Oldwalls' Point ....... 130 Lower Sharpnose ................... 136 Compass Point ..................... 144 The Lizard . 280 Penwith West Inland Cornwall...................... 150 Trewavas Head ..................... 282 Cheesewring Quarry................. 152 Lizard Point ........................ 286 The Devil's Jump ................... 158 Roche Rock ....................... 159 Inland Devon and Dartmoor ........... 298 Chudleigh ......................... 300 The Atlantic Coast . 164 Torbryan Quarry .................... 310 Lizard The Tintagel ........................... 166 Haytor . 314 Doyden Point....................... 170 Hound Tor ......................... 320 Pentire Head ....................... 172 Bench Tor ....................... 324 Carn Gowla........................ 176 Sheeps Tor ........................ 326 The Dewerstone .................... 330 West Penwith ....................... 186 Torbay ............................. 342 Zennor Cliff ...................... 188 Inland Devon Gurnard's Head..................... 190 Berry Head ........................ 344 Carn Gloose and Robin's Rocks........ 194 Daddyhole......................... 354 Bosigran .......................... 198 Anstey's Cove and Long Quarry Point ... 360 Great Zawn and Bosigran Ridge ....... 212 Kenidjack.......................... 220 Dorset ............................. 370 Sennen ........................... 224 Portland........................... 374 Torbay Land's End ........................ 232 Swanage .......................... 390 Pordenack Point .................... 238 Carn Les Boel and Zawn Kellys ........ 242 Route Index ......................... 418 Carn Barra ........................ 246 General Index and Area Map ........... 424 Fox Promontory..................... 252 Chair Ladder ....................... 256 Photo: Steve Crowe nearing the finish of Break on Porthgwarra and St. Levan Area........ 266 Through (E4 5c) - page 142 - Lower Sharpnose, Dorset Cribba Head, St. Loy and Tater Du...... 272 Cornwall. Photo: Dave Pickford 4 Introduction Avon Somerset Avon West Country Climbs is a selective guide to the finest rock climbing in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Avon in western England. The area has hundreds of fantastic routes of all grades and styles, on a variety of rock types, and these are presented here in one concise guidebook. For many climbers, the golden granite sea cliffs of Cornwall will be considered the jewel in the North Devon West Country’s crown, however there are many more outstanding climbing destinations on offer. The broad choice ranges from the dark lava and culm of the north coast of Devon and Cornwall, to the granite of Bodmin and Dartmoor and to the lighter limestone of Torbay, the Avon Gorge, Somerset and Dorset. Whatever grade of climb, and whatever preferred style of climbing is sought, the West Country caters for all options - long, adventurous climbs on remote sea cliffs, modern sport climbs above the beach, short bouldery routes on granite tors, and Culm Coast Culm everything in between. Mid-grade traditional classics on perfect granite? - West Penwith. Huge, committing sea cliff adventures? - The Atlantic and Culm coast. Inland Cornwall Sunny, limestone sport routes? - Portland, Brean Down and Torquay. Exhilarating sea-cliff trad climbs with a holiday ambience? - Berry Head and Swanage. Technical sport and trad routes on moorland granite? - Dartmoor and Inland Cornwall. Rural, or ultra-urban climbing? - The Dewerstone and Chudleigh or the Avon Gorge. Atlantic Coast Atlantic West Country Climbs brings all of these cliffs and their climbs alive with clear approach information, huge photo-topos, detailed route descriptions and inspiring action photography. But it's not all about the climbing. The West West Penwith West Country is one of Europe’s most enchanting corners. Its rugged coastline, wind-swept moors, traditional rural pubs, gorgeous beaches and picturesque villages make any visit an unforgettable experience, but when The Lizard The combined with the excellence of the climbs on offer and a bit of decent weather it is without a doubt one of the finest places to climb anywhere. Inland Devon Torbay Dorset 216 Alex Mason ontheGreatZawngem - at Bosigran, West Penwith.Photo: Duncan Skelton/Offwidth Images -atBosigran, West Introduction Green Cormorant Face (E2 5c)- page 5 Dorset Torbay Inland Devon The Lizard West Penwith Atlantic Coast Inland Cornwall Culm Coast North Devon Avon Somerset 6 Introduction Avon Somerset Avon This Guidebook This 2010 first edition of West Country Climbs is a selective guidebook that details the prime rock climbs of the major cliffs in the West Country. In general, only the best routes on the best cliffs are described, although on some buttresses (mainly the sport crags) all the lines are described to avoid confusion where many lines exist on uniform looking faces. In total there are 884 routes described in detail which will be more than enough to keep the majority of climbers happy for a lifetime's worth of visits. North Devon Route Lines - The photo-topos in this book are large and detailed. These qualities enable the route lines to be seen very clearly, showing intricate detail of where the routes go. Great care has been taken when adding the route lines but it is inevitable that some may not be exactly right, especially on the more obscure routes and on routes where there is no precise line. If unsure then use personal judgement to pick out a line, and let us know of any discrepancies by commenting on the Rockfax Route Database (www.rockfax.com). Culm Coast Culm Other Guidebooks There are thousands of routes in the West Country which are not covered in this book. The Rockfax guidebook to Dorset covers all the Inland Cornwall routes in the last section of this book. For bouldering information have a look at Dave Henderson's excellent website - www.javu.co.uk. For other areas consult the books from the following: The Climbers' Club - www.climbers-club.co.uk Cordee - www.cordee.co.uk Cheddar Gorge and Caves - www.thegorgeoutdoors.co.uk Atlantic Coast Atlantic The information that is included in this guidebook has been gathered together over my climbing life, distilled and built upon to produce the guidebook that you now have in your hands. My guidebook shelf charts my association with climbing in the West Country - having been born in Devon my first steps were guided by the contents of Tony West Penwith West Moulam and Pat Littlejohn's West Col guides to Dartmoor and South Devon, whilst forays further afield were initially inspired by Richard Crewe's early Dorset guidebook and the Climbers' Club North and South guides to West Penwith. I can also vividly remember my first sighting of Pat Littlejohn's - hot off the press - first edition of South West Climbs in the back of a Morris Marina in Exeter and immediately being driven away by the books owner to sample one of its revelations on Devon's North Coast. In more recent times Nick