UKC

Hi, coming from the states for a week long visit. The boyfriend has been summoned for work, me for play. We are mostly boulderers, but will sport climb if the occasion calls for it. What's the closest GOOD stuff in/around London? My initial Google search left me with climbing gyms, but we're looking for real rock. We climb somewhere around 6C / 7a. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

In reply to Amna: HI Amna, unfortunately there is no climbing on real rock anywhere near london (in UK terms) but a 3 hour drive further north will bring you to the peak district which is backed full of some of the best bouldering in the country.

if anybody suggests a visit to southern sandstone ignore them, its barely worth a visit from 50 miles away never mind 3000 miles away

In reply to Amna:
Whereabouts will you be staying in London? This will have a huge impact on your most easily accessible venues.

http://climbers-club.co.uk/eshop/guidebook-store.php

has a little map showing where the areas are relative to London

In reply to Amna:

Hi Amna - there is some very good bouldering locally - check out this website for the new guidebook - http://www.ssbouldering.co.uk/index.html

Have fun

Personally I love the southern sandstone, but it needs a couple of days of dry weather to be usable, and it can be a bit of an acquired taste as it is quite soft. Most of the bouldering is "climb a route till you get scared and then jump off" rather than topping out - there is a bouldering guidebook.
If you have the time then peak bouldering is the place to go, probably stanage edge boulders for you lot. You can drive there in about 3 hours if the roads are quiet - I leave about 6am to get to the crag about 9. You can also catch a train up to Sheffield and then use fairly frequent buses to get to the crags. The rock dries in about an hour, so you are much more likely to be able to climb. Gritstone itself is a fabulous rock to climb on, with friction levels close to sandpaper!
Hope the weather is kind and you find some good rock.

In reply to gcandlin:

Does someone not like sandstone

In reply to Amna:

As people have said, a 2 and something hour train journey North will get you to Sheffield from where you can get a bus/train/car ( ~ 20 mins ?) into the Peak district . Generally thought to be among the top 4 or 5 bouldering areas in the UK .

A 2 hour 15 mins train journey in the opposite direction will get you to Paris from where another train (~40 mins) will get you to Fontainebleau. Generally thought to be the best bouldering area in the world, bar none.

Hi Amna, welcome to the UK.

Some reasonable advice so far but probably not all of it helpful if you don't know much about climbing in the UK.

The Climbers' Club website that 999thAndy posted - that shows a few climbing areas, but only the ones where the Climbers' Club publishes guides! There are *lots* more areas. Of most interest to you, it misses of the entire Peak District.

You have been advised to visit the sandstone near London, and you've been advised not to visit it! Not hugely helpful. It's the closest climbing to London. I've never climbed there, but I get the impression it's not brilliant. It is, however, a lot closer than the Peak District.

For sport climbing, you could look at Portland. There's a new guidebook just been published.

http://www.rockfax.com/climbing-guides/books/dorset-2011/

In reply to Amna:

is font really viable in 3 hours from London? If so, I need to start planning some trips

In reply to Amna:

London is not great for rock. The sandstone is close by, and plenty of fun can be had there but it is definitely more of a locals' area than world class - there are some great climbs there but not representative of the UK in general. The best bouldering in the UK is probably in the Peak District (2.5 hours), Dartmoor (3 hours) Yorkshire (3.5 hours) and North Wales (4.5 hours).

For sport climbing, your best bet would be Portland (3 hours) or Swanage (2.5 hours) on the south coast, or Cheddar (2.5 hours).

In reply to Kemics:

More like 3 and a half. You have to cross Paris.
Of course that's assuming the trains connect.
Just missing the train in Paris could add an hour.

In reply to i.munro:

eurostar and hiring a car from gare du nord is also an option, which helps if you want to get around the forest quickly.

In reply to Amna: Have you considered trying to hook up with some locals to go and do some trad? Restricting yourselves to sport and bouldering would be missing out on most of the best rock in the UK...

In reply to BoulderBus:

I forgot about Font, but agree that if you have the time (probably 5 hours minimum) it is the best you could ever imagine! We go for a week every year by hiring a gite. You do really need a car to get round font - I've done the car hire at gare-du-nord thing, and it's fine as long as you can drive round the peripherique without freaking out!

In reply to Ramblin dave: I doubt that she wants to climb on all the rock in the UK. If she was interested in trad she would have tried it already.
The best crags for bouldering on southern sandstone are high rocks (£10 entry fee) and bowles. See the southern sandstone bouldering guide mentioned previously.

In reply to PeterJuggler:

No, but as a visiting American it might be nice to see the stuff that's unique and special and iconic about UK climbing rather than stuff that will mostly seem like a crap version of what she was doing back home...

In reply to Ramblin dave:

That's a fairly blinkered opinion. Some of our bouldering is pretty high class and stands up to other areas around the world. Most of our trad is pretty lame compared to US standards (once you factor in the fact that the bouldering in California is often higher than most of our gritstone edges). Someone who is into bouldering could be fairly underwhelmed by our classic trad rock routes.

In reply to PeterJuggler:



I find it tricky to catch High Rocks in dry (& therefore safe to climb without further damage) conditions & I'm in London 40 odd weeks a year not one.
If you happen to arrive during a long dry spell then ok but just ask someone to point out the worthwhile problems rathe than buying a guide.

Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the info. It sounds like I really need to bite the bullet and make it out to the Peak District. We won't have a car for the trip, so thanks also for the info on public transportation.

I am not a trad climber. I've followed a line out in Joshua Tree once before, but it's just not my cup of tea. However, hooking up with some locals would be quite nice, actually. If anyone would like to play rock guide for a day, I'd be much obliged.

We'll be there from the 24th of March - 1st of April.

In reply to Amna:
I haven't used the bus from sheffield but coming from the Peak district I think that people's 20 minute estimate from sheffield station to the crag is very optimistic...

Maybe a better idea would be to post on here asking for a lift if anyone is driving over to stanage from sheffield for the day?

I would like to be told otherwise but you could be waiting for ages if the bus and train don't coincide!