In reply to BARNEYHIGHROPES:
Hi there
I was the access rep for the area until I moved away 3 years ago, and actually your post pricks my conscience a bit, because I actually agree with quite a lot of what you've written, though I never did anything about it when I was the access rep. The climbing on the lower tier is a long way from the nest, and in particular is much further away* from the nest than the grassy area below the upper tier to which public access is freely available (and which is well used by the local youth for liquid picnics as you know!). So I think there is a very good case for negotiating a de-restriction of the lower tier. The upper tier is a different story as it's directly across from the nest and in direct line of site of it - so I could see that climbers on here might cause more disturbance than people hanging around on the grass below. The BMC access team made the point (which I've heard elsewhere) that peregrines in different sites have differing tolerances for disturbance, but the ones here must have developed some tolerance to people around due to the public access to the ground below.
As to why I never did anything about it between 2007 and 2021, to be honest Shakemantle wasn't really on my radar much, and in particular I wasn't sure if anyone was ever climbing on the lower tier. (To anyone reading this who's not familiar - please don't all stampede over to the lower tier of Shakemantle looking for acres of pristine rock when the bird ban comes off - it's a somewhat esoteric venue, with a LOT of loose rock!). I know both Julio (the current rep) and I have in the past helped out the local raptor conservation group with ringing, and last autumn the the Gloucestershire MC had a big litter clean-up at Shakemantle, so hopefully we have a little credit in the bank. That said, I suspect Julio has his hands very full at the moment with Symonds Yat, but it is worth raising even if we don't get the benefit of any change this year.
Finally, I agree with Paul above - if you are local and haven't yet done much at Staple Edge then you really should, but bring a nylon brush and some secateurs as the brambles and moss keep creeping back on to the established routes. It's actually at its best at this time of year, when the sun is high but the leaves are still not fully out.
Cheers
Rick
*I'd say a lot more than 100ft from the nest by the way - at least 100 metres horizontally I'd have thought, and well below.