UKC

What are the biggest cliffs in the UK? It's hard to find an answer on google as cliff seems to mean only sea cliffs, and crag doesnt return much. Definitions make a lot of difference to the answer so let's define it as something we could call a cliff so approximatly continuous rock at an angle that would give proper climbing.

I think St Johns head would be first followed by Lliwedd but I've proably missed a few scottish ones that are bigger.

In reply to Red Rover:

North face of Nevis is pretty big.

In reply to butteredfrog:

Is it a continuous cliff or a system of cliffs?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Ben_N_Face_annotated.jpg

I suppose the Orion Face is a single cliff and that must be pretty big.

In reply to Red Rover:

I read somewhere that Beinn Bhan near applecross has the tallest mainland crag in the uk

In reply to Red Rover:

Sron Na Ciche on the Isle of Skye must be pretty close to St John's head (which google says is ~350m high). Guessed at Sron na Ciche by adding up the length of 3 climbs that follow on from each other Cioche Direct = 150m + Arrow Route = 61m + Integrity = 76m => somewhere around 280m?

In reply to tallpaulselfridge:

Beinn Bhan looks amazing! Doesnt look like there are any summer routes on it going by the UKC logbook.

Is there anything outside of Scotland taller than Lliwedd?

In reply to Red Rover:



Amphitheater buttress on Craig yr ysfa is longer than anything on lliwedd although from what I remember there was a broken section in in the middle

In reply to Red Rover:

#1 St John's Head (Hoy) 350m+
#2 Nebbifield (Foula) 300m+

The biggest mountain crag that actually has climbing on rather than scrambling (in my view the dubh slabs don't count) is probably a toss-up between Creag an Dubh Loch and the north face of Ben Nevis (depending on what your exact definition of a cliff is). I 'think' the north face is the taller of the two from top to bottom, but doesn't contain an unbroken face that is as large as the face of Creag an Dubh Loch.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

In reply to Red Rover:

Surely the answer to this question is the main cliff on St Kilda? And on the mainland the ones at Cape Wrath, no?

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

We chose St Johns Head because it was accepted by the RGS as the highest vertical cliff in the UK, and as such it needed to be climbed. I don't know if Kilda is higher, I suspect it is, but maybe not as vertical.
We have since heard similar claims for The Kame of Hoy, but I think thats only 800ft, generally it's a bit arbitrary to what is considered vertical, Certainly the bottom couple of 100ft of St Johns is not vertical but you can make it so by route choice. In THe end what does it matter, they are all bloody steep big cliffs.

In reply to Al Evans:

The Kame is about 350 metres but is a bit slabby in its lower section with a grass terrace at half height and a steeper upper section.

Just down from it and slightly shorter at about 300m is the Nebbyfield. This is continuously steep requiring two joined 100 m ropes to do a free hanging abseil to the ledge system at one thirds height. Slightly further round it is about 250 and overhangs the entire way by a huge amount.

Generally it's more continuously steep than St Johns Head at about the same height.

St Kilda does not look like a proper cliff in my opinion more a rambling headland.

In reply to wynaptomos:


Agreed. About a third of that climb is a walk through steep grass. It isn't exactly what I would call unbroken climbing.

In reply to Al Evans:

Well, they always say Conachair (if that's what the St K cliff is called) is 1400 feet. I don't know how broken or unbroken it is. Was there not some attempt to climb it at some point, either for TV or not? Pete Whillance, maybe? Am I totally making this up?

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Rings a bell - I think Sir Chris of Bonington was involved too!

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I was under the impression that a Whillance party had climbed Conachair back in the 80s (for some reason 'The Edge of the World' as a route name and 'E5' as a grade leap to mind). The link below certainly has him on the island and inspecting the cliff from above, but an actual bottom-to-top ascent isn't mentioned.

http://footlesscrow.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/edge-of-world.html

In reply to Peter Walker:

Brilliant link. It does say exactly that he climbed Edge of the World and E5, no? (at the end). It also however seems to think that Conachair is only 800 feet high.

I didn’t realise St K was kayakable; somehow I thought it was a lot further than 30 miles from the nearest Hebrides (assuming the Monachs are part of the Hebrides). Perhaps that’s Rockall. And why on earth didn’t the inhabitants fish, as that article suggests they didn’t ‘for obvious reasons’?

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:



There is a video of this somewhere on the web, it was a BBC prog but I have no skills to be able to find it now.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

That'll teach me to skim read John...glad to know that the ole memory isn't quite failing me yet though.

In reply to Al Evans:

Are you maybe thinking about the programme detailing the ascent of the Kame Al? That had Whillance in it too.

Bottom link here...

http://www.johnnydawes.com/see-stuff/videos/

In reply to Peter Walker:

This route looks (and sounds by the description) Terrifying.

http://www.orkney-seastacks.co.uk/stjohnshead.htm

In reply to drunken monkey:

The site admin (and one of the first ascentionists, I believe) is a splendid gent called Iain Miller, now resident in Donegal and merrily making first ascents of the myriad of sea stacks off the coast there (he helped me with an article I was doing). The fact that he's had a visit from Mick Fowler (who raved about the possibilities over there) probably speaks volumes.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LmhIIe01a7PyW06Gf5TmQ

In reply to drunken monkey:

It seems the rock on that part of St John's Head must be worse than other parts

The rock on Big John is good - we hardly pulled anything off on the FA

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

St Kilda is kayakable, though you're correct it's a lot further than 30 miles, I think probably nearer to double that.

I get the impression the inhabitants' diet mainly consisted of sea birds and their eggs. Why didn't they fish? Dunno.

In reply to Red Rover:


None recorded, though note topo at bottom:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=5251

In reply to Carless:

"we hardly pulled anything off on the FA"

It may be harldy anaything but didnt you go sailing off when your giant layback flake peeled?

In reply to Red Rover:

An Teallach is pretty effing big

In reply to Andy Donson:

Yep - however it was only the top 6 inches of it, and Mick had already done the same move. Hmmm - Mick must be lighter on his limbs - *that's* how he does it

Anyway I was merely cleaning for your FFA