UKC

The Atlantic isle of Madeira lies off the African coast some 250 miles north of the Canary Islands. Rising to 1800m, it is a mountainous island criss-crossed with artificial watercourses called Levadas, which offer very scenic yet level walks and are popular with walkers from all over Europe. The island is surrounded by massive sea-cliffs of 'volcanic ash', up to 578m high, but not surprisingly there has been little or no attention from climbers. Until now that is!

Pioneer of adventurous and committing new routes worldwide and Director of the International School Of Mountaineering:Pat Littlejohn explains all...