UKC

Where is the tallest slag heap in the UK? Would I need to employ a mountain guide to tackle it safely or would my indoor climbing experience (lead, as well as top roped climbing) be adequate preparation for any difficulties I'm likely to encounter. I have a 35m rope.

Thanks in advance,

JLS

Have you tried a search on Bing?

Bing only gave results in Scotland.  I thought there may be something taller in other parts of the UK...

There's a danger of being slagged off

Searching for the biggest slag in the UK, might be something you want to do in a private browsing window.

I will jump in as I need to settle my late lunch before doing something more constructive.

My work commute often used to pass the slag bank cliff in barrow in furness. Often wondered how it would be to climb but never that bothered to have a closer look. Did see the fire brigade carrying out the odd rescue of local youth.

Slag itself has some strange properties, over the years ,  I was involved with building  loads of industrial units on areas with about 10 metres plus  depth of slag landscaped over the old iron works. The various structural engineers designing the foundations had varying degrees of confidence in the material , one even specified driven concrete piles, doh. Its actually amazing strong , if rolled in , its virtually undiggable even with a 30t machine. Don't expect your axes to be much use. Or hands and feet either , the surface tends to dusty and awkwardly slippy.

Blackpool. 

As a kid we used to play on what was locally known as the Wigan (or Abram) Alps. They were huge and I found out later they were good training for volcanoes. Then the b@stards levelled them!

Cornish Alps?

South Wales valleys?

North Wales slate mines? 

I'm pretty sure there are taller and more aesthetic heaps in Wales. Interesting to hear that axes wont cut it with bullet prove slag. Sound like any undertaking on slag will be quite challenging.  I'm now tending towards hiring a guide...

Do any of these areas have enough for a whole week or are they more like bank holiday weekend destinations? 

the Five Sisters at Addiewell are pretty high, and actually quite shapely.

I bet the Cornish alps have a few weeks worth of first ascents

The photos do look quite impressive.  I note OS maps give next to no information on the elevations of the peaks. It would appear that the area has had little attention from the mountaineering community and awaits exploration. Perhaps there are still first ascents waiting for someone with the right spirit of adventure.  Do you think I could possibly engage a local sheppard as a guide?

I remember the ones outside Blaenau Ffestiniog being pretty flipping imposing but they may have been dumped on already high ground. They cast a shadow across the lands!

The remains of the Puy de Dodworth, aka. the muck stack or Dodworth ski-slope , towers 40+ mtrs above J37 of the M1. It used to be much more impressively conical before the building of the " alpine style" refuge of the Toby Carvery at its base.

Do you mean slag (blast furnace waste), or spoil (quarry/mining overburden)?

It's in a hill list - it's a Tump:

http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?rf=19507

As aln suggests elsewhere in the thread, Lothian is worth a look - quite a few good/big shale bings.

Is this alp made from iron furnace slag? Given Barrow's history I'd guess so. I think I saw a 'crag' made of iron slag near Ulverston as I approached along the coast from the south. From a distance it resembled limestone and had some nice looking slab and crack features. Access might have to be negotiated with GSK?

Ask BingSoc. https://www.rhsoc.uk - they messed up the tick lists with spoil heaps like the one by Hensbarrow Beacon

This is a joke, right?

If you're not sure, folks, look up "slag heap UK" on Google images and you'll see the quality of the climbing 

Dunno, as I've not been up it - but more to the point I'm pretty sure my Dalton pal Gordon Ingall hasn't been up it either (I'll try and remember to check when we next speak on the phone). Gordon's within four months or so of 15,000 Wainwrights and is not averse to a Tump or two too, eg during the Covid restrictions when he couldn't go far. I think he went to the nearby-ish one called The Alps, but I seem to recall him saying the slag bank felt a bit much even for him.

Mount Judd in Nuneaton is quite Matterhorn-like

Careful if you go the the French Slags as they are UNESCO world treasures

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9368443/Frances-sl...

I believe the man you require for such a climbing guide challenge is someone who worships the work of and tries to emulate Mick Fowler. 

An impact driver and hex head screws might also be of use, dependant on how pure an ascent you'd be happy with. 

Good luck on your mission. Please send a post card. 😁

I think the biggest pile of shredded paper for you to scale will be forming outside the BMC office windows in Manchester right now. 

I've already done Mount Judd about 20 years ago, so you can't claim the first ascent. I think it used to be a fair bit bigger as it started on one of the lower levels of the quarry, but they've filled the quarry in now, but this still stands. Impressive sight when driving down the A5

I don’t know, but I always enjoy a trip to Blast Beach south of Seaham.  Access is by descending a sloping 40m high slag heap down to sea level. then the rear half of the beach is…. Slag.  With an eroding cliff of slag, containing the odd bit of rubber drive belt etc from the collieries.

Eg second photo down on this link - https://fabulousnorth.com/blast-beach-at-noses-point-near-seaham/

Longshore drift has moved lots of slag and coal to the formerly pristine beach to the south at the mouth of Hawthorne Dene.  People made amazing art with it during covid lockdowns.

One of my favourite East Durham coast games is “Slag or Rock?”.

The Nipple of Nuneaton, 158m. Very pert, I must say. I look forward to being nestled in the bosom of England and cupping some slag as a memento of the visit.

That's what I was thinking. West Lothian and the Lanarkshires would be a good hunting ground for bing botherers.

Went up two of them on Greendykes Bing to alleviate lockdown boredom. An interesting experience.

Almost certainly a better collection of slag in Blackpool on a bank holiday weekend than mid week . Judging by his behaviour on his holidays inBenidorm ( allegedly ) a guide of my acquaintance would be just the man to accompany you on your expedition . I’ll pm you his details . If you wish to expand your search then “ the dorm “ or Magaluf would be good bases for your slag hunting .

How long until the misogynists come out of the wood work.

I googled Tall Slags and ended up directed to katie price's website.

Unfunny, and worse: boring.  0/10.

I don't know the tallest now but as a kid certainly came down some whopping big, steep ones on a old piece of conveyor belt, then feed the pit poneys, great times.

Five Sisters.

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ONGR_enGB1058GB1058&q=five+sisters...

https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst9739.html

Some Cornish Alplets on Bodmin Moor. Unless these elegant piles have been extensively grown on I'd say they would likely be very unstable. The far side of the nearest one in the photo is like a pile of sand that has collapsed  several times.

Before you go you may like to read the morning papers of 21/10/1966  

RIP 

 mass burial care of the National Coal board  

was supposed to be a humorous/ironic response to the previous post by JamesG85 but I guess the irony was lost

Totally confused... was I supposed to upvote that comment to approve the humour, or downvote it as slagging off and showing I approved. Why is the world so complicated, why why????

From your link... "the bing still reaches a height of 240m (787 feet) above sea level (or 91m / 299 feet from its base to its summit)"

I can't find a height for the peaks in the Cornish Alps but the surrounding landscape suggests the Cornish bings are possibly higher than the Five Sisters...

The question raised by yourself in the Thread Title was 'Tallest Slag Heap' and by definition 'Tallest' when referring to a mountain is the height including what's under the sea if it's a continuous slope from the sea bed - Mauna Kea is hence the tallest mountain in the world.
Being UKC, this needs to be clarified as it gives room for the thread to go off on a tangent about the actual definition of highest/tallest, etc. 

To clarify, I think summit level "Above Ordnance Datum Newlyn" would be appropriate for the purposes of the thread.

The database people reckon the Five Sisters top out at 231m:
http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=18962

I went over all five from N to S one day in May 2005 and my Suunto wrist altimeter gave heights of 225m, 230m, 225m, 230m, and 225m with the second one being the highest (which agrees with the later database assessment).

Here's a piece I wrote about some of the West Lothian bings in 2004:
https://archive.org/details/tac-63/page/14/mode/2up

For the 'biggest slag heap experience' - though it's not a slag heap - Great Hell Gate on Great Gable takes some beating. (Gavel Neese is pretty arduous too). I should add a in case anyone gets too offended ...