UKC

Looking at the crags map there is a huge void between Northumberland and Edinburgh.

There must be some crags in the borders? I might be spending some time in the Selkirk area, surely there is something out there?

In reply to another_mark:

I think there might be an outcrop of uber slippy rock not too far away Otherwise known as the Whin Sill by Hadrian's Wall. Lots of other stuff in Northumberland eg. Kyloe. Try this rather good on line guide (crags on the LHS).

http://thenmc.org.uk/onlineguide/index.php?v=1&s=1

For stuff on the Scottish side of the border, how about trying the Lowland Outcops guide? And here on UKC

http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/book.php?id=459

In reply to JonC: Thanks Jon!

I'll follow those up.

In reply to another_mark:

Sorry if you are aware of most of those but there might be something new to you.

In reply to JonC:

I'm ignorant of the whole area. I had a quick look at on here but it seemed to be just a couple of crags with only a few climbs.

I've posted a wanted for the guide that you've suggested.

In reply to another_mark:

A couple of friends who live near Selkirk told me the couple of crags there are nearby are seriously not good. Northumberland isn't far though, that's where I'd be headed.

In reply to another_mark:

There's Fatlips Crag at Hawick.It's large but not brilliant rock or gear. However some of the routes are quite good.

Much smaller and further from the road is Craghoar near Beattock, but the rock is very nice and it's quick drying. Details here: http://www.johnbiggar.com/craighoar-dumfries-rock-climbing.asp

Other than that, the best stuff is either on the Northumberland side, or further west in Dumfries and Galloway.

In reply to another_mark:

Good crags ( or indeed crags of any sort) are in remarkably short supply in the Borders. The southern uplands are virtually devoid of any worthwhile climbing - whereas God's own coonty to the south is liberally blessed with sandstone and dolerite outcrops and even some 'mountain' igneous rock up at the Henhole on Cheviot.

In reply to another_mark: Yeah, I'd say trekking down to northumberland's your best bet, although i did read about some big limestone blocks a little way west of edinburgh, but that's probably just as far? Try Bowden Doors (And Back Bowden), Kyloe (kyloe in & out of the woods), and Dovehole Boulders (although i hear that Dovehole is like climbing up a beach) for some places nearer the borders, but there's stuff all the way down to Newcastle and beyond it seems. I'd be happy to climb with you some time if you're looking for someone to climb with? As I live right next to Bowden Doors.

I can appreciate however that it's quite a trek to get to those crags, but it's worth it! I've met people from edinburgh, and even from sheffield, up at bowden!

In reply to another_mark: Thanks for all those comments guys.

Going up for a preliminary meeting tomorrow, if things go well then I'll be spending some time up there. Looks like stopping in Northumberland on the way will be the thing to do.

Madden, if this comes off then I'll get in touch.

In reply to Stephen Reid:

I'd wondered about fatlips castle, without ever doing anything about it. But, speaking as someone who lives in Lauder, I'll concur with the consensus. There's nowtin the borders, but northumberland is close enough.

In reply to mav:Took a walk up to fatlips castle last summer, good views from the top and a pint sized castle. Climbs difficult to see with trees on steep and slippery approach. Worth a look for the views alone.

In reply to mav: We did the first recorded routes there, Fatlips Corner (VS) and Who You Calling Fatlips? (E1), though it's hard to believe such an obvious crag hadn't been climbed on before. They are probably the best routes there and worth doing if you are in the area, but not worth driving a long way for.

In reply to Stephen Reid: if the east coast counts as the Borders then The Souter http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crag.php?id=165 IS worth a drive to if only to do the sea stack (HVS). There are some good climbs on the nearby walls too.

In reply to Stephen Reid:

Gordon Thompson may chip in here if he's watching. He did visit the crag, but I don't think his visits were an unqualified success