In reply to Nick Bullocknick bullock: I wanted to take my time in replying to this post to see how it developed before your last group of comments compelled me to respond and supply the facts, not as I see them or you see them, but as they are.
Many have said to me don't get involved but I need to put the facts correctly.
Firstly consensus:
I was asked to regear some of the routes and belays at Llanymynech by the North Wales Bolt Fund which included the partly-bolted This Won't Hurt. I had also been approached, as identified in the first post if you read it, by Nick Dixon who wanted his own route Nomad bolted as it received no traffic anymore and deserved attention - this was not my decision whatsoever and I was strongly against the idea at first. I was strongly torn, as anyone who knows me will confirm, as to whether I wanted this wall to be turned into a sports-climbing venue and retroed, hence the reasoning for placing the post.
I regeared This Won't Hurt like for like (ie. 4 bolts one whic replaced a peg) and left it for 7 months in which time it received no ascents: I visit the crag on a regular basis and this is a fact. During this time I again met Nick who was passing through the quarry and who I have known for over 25 years and again he asked me to bolt up Nomad and suggested I do likewise to the rest of the wall: I was also approached by at least another 20 odd climbers either on this crag or at others, most of whom I can name and who don't post on this site, to do likewise.
I therfore posted on this site to try and confirm some form of consesnus: it goes without saying that a number of people with no interest in this crag and just plain against bolting per se posted against but at the time I chose to change This Won't Hurt to a sports route it was 12 in favour and 10 against. And you can't call 22 posts any form of interest nor can you call a slight in favour a cause for doing it I agree.
I then chose to bolt This Won't Hurt due to lack of interest and bolts and see the effects: it should not be forgotten that at this point in time Nomad was going to be bolted due to Nick's request and not just by myself.
I then spotted a line to the left and chose to bolt and climb it and also wanted to do a direct on Screaming Skull. Around the same time I spoke with Nick on the phone about some other issues and he again mentioned that I bolt Nomad.
I bolted the routes with a certain spaced nature in line with the original routes: they are in no way overbolted. Oh and by the way, Nomad had 5 pegs and three nails, Skull had three pegs and two threads, TWH had three bolts and one peg.
Since then thay have inevitably become popualr with the majority of people saying it was the right descision and a surprising amount of people coming forward to say they wanted to do the route without bolts. That's an interesting psyche since they wouldn't be queueing up to do it before its profile was raised?
For your information I have done Skull 7 times trad, Nomad 7 time trad (it maybe 8) and This Won't Hurt 15 plus, so I know what they are like and all of these ascents were between 1989 and 1993.
Like I said these are the facts not my opinion.
But for what its worth, it seems to most that the facts aren't what its about.
So here are a few of my opinions which should set the hares racing:
These crags would not have been visited were it not for my extremely hard work and endeavour. We, Hazel and myself that is, used to visit regularly through the late Eighties and Nineties but never saw anobody towards the mid Nineties onwards. The crags had completely fallen into disrepair and when we visited after a five year gap in late 2001, Grid Iron Wall was a jungle, ivy was growing back on Red Wall and was also starting to creep up the Nomad Wall. Black wall was still relatively clean but you couldn't do the routes on its right-hand side as the ivy was creaping up it as well.
This in my opinion was a sad loss as I thought it had the potential of a great crag. What happened is history and I don't want to present a history lesson but since those efforts this crag has flourished.
The crag and routes are one of the most frequented and enjoyed crags in the Mid Wales/North Wales region and many climbers come to enjoy these climbs and its reputation has grown.
The walls are better and kept clean because of the bolts and I have changed my opinion about the Nomad Wall. It is better that it is bolted, not proven by the ascents it has received, but because such a quarry lends itself to such climbing. Many climbers, who are against the ideology that every inland limestone quarry should be bolted and are fully in favour of traditional style climbing support this view. They don't post here because of the jaundiced view some have. Some say I have that but I can tell you I am firmly in favour of traditional climbing.
I think it should remain as a bolted wall and others feel likewise.
Finally Nick, I'll congratulate you and others on you ability, something I may have almost touched some 20 years ago when I first did these climbs but which I have no longer: beer and age takes its toll I can tell you! You clearly have the ability to do these with the old fixed gear and without if necessary, certainly more than some people who post on here have, but leave the bolts in. Get someone to tape them up and so do it without.
Removing them will not solve the issue, just render this wall a great loss to those who have and will enjoy it with the bolts.