UKC

Hello.

Im planning a hitch-hiking/dirtbagging trad climbing trip around England, Europe, Turkey, and North Africa starting this September.

Im looking to start the trip sea cliff climbing in September in the Dorset or Cornwall area.

I've dirtbagged before in Cheddar Gorge *we were the bums of cheddar* and am interested in taking up the great standard once again.

I plan on bring a single set of cams, set of dmm offsets and walnuts, a few hexes, and about 15 quickdraws for pro….

I'm looking for something with easy access (not necessarily little hiking, but something that doesn't require a car to get to (will be hitching) with lots of climbing in the 6a 6b range for trad.

Also somewhere where it will be easy to get climbing partners.

Im kinda a wimp on lead, not like you crazy gritstone climbers, but do enjoy beautiful well protected lines with inspiring movement and breathtaking scenery. Seems I should be able to find that in England

My homecrag is Indian Creek, so my style is way different, but am excited to grow and develop my trad game.

Thanks for the help. Also, if you wanna climb in September, Im game.

In reply to biabarida:

Gogarth might fit the bill, as there is a train station at Holyhead fairly close. Remember it's in Wales though

In reply to biabarida:

Lands End, in Cornwall, is pretty compact and you could walk to crags from the 'right' campsite.
Swanage would be good as you can camp within an easy walk of the cliffs. Might need an ab rope though.

In reply to biabarida:

Train to Pembroke, hitch to the campsite, can walk to most of the crags from the (cheap) campsite, fantastic climbing. There may be issues with access mid week in september as it's an Army firing range so maybe someone with more knowledge than me can clarify that but truly is amazing climbing. I'd also give a second vote for gogarth but I reckon sorting partners in pembroke might be easier.

In reply to biabarida:
How about Taking the Boat for a few days on Lundy? Spectacular, good Lines and Gear, walk to every crag, there will be Other Climbers, and a pub.

Then when Back on mainland, few days at Baggy Point.

In reply to broken spectre:

OP said dorset to cornwall.

Lundy and Baggy are good calls for the north and I bet partners would be possible, week/10 days
Sennen and Bosigran are good for west Cornwall but I'm not sure how easy partners would be to find. week/10 days
On the return journey for the South, Brixham/Torquay area with the hope that you meet someone to take you out to the Tors as well. 1 Week
Swanage to end. Should find partners fine. 1 Week

Thats a month easily filled should you wish to get to know each area a little.

Wales after.....

In reply to biabarida:
I recommend trying to find a partner on here that has a car (try this forum).
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/i.php?f=5
People are generally pretty helpful on here

In reply to biabarida:

I suspect you will have serious problems getting to sea crags in Dorset and Cornwall without a car (specially if you call it Dorset and Cornwall, as the locals can be quite precious about part of it being called Devon!). There’s no one place (like Pembroke) you can climb at for a month without moving, and the crags are spread out and not easy to access by public transport.

The nearest thing would be either Swanage (a tad intimidating to the casual visitor, but the easiest to find partners for, I would think), Torbay (less to go at, perhaps) or West Penwith (more walking needed, more variety in the climbing, fewer climbers around).

Lundy costs at least £80 for the boat there and back and you would be very lucky to find partners there; you’d need to pre-arrange a partner. On the other hand it’s fine climbing and a lovely place.

jcm

In reply to biabarida:


...and you need to book ahead if you want to stay overnight. It gets full.

but I reckon there are plenty of places to sneakily stay near to the crags in Cornwall if you are subtle, and you could spend days at each venue, and then get a lift by hitching to another. West Penwith is the far west end of cornwall and is where all the good climbing is

In reply to tlm:

>It gets full.

Does it? The campsite's been noticeably empty the last few times I've been. But, yes, certainly worth noting for the OP's benefit that unofficial camping there is really not practical.

jcm

In reply to tlm:


Indeed. I think getting down there and dossing subtley is a good plan. Lots of great crags including some of the very best in the UK (thinking Great Zawn). Worth the extra effort of going down there, far better rock, scenery and routes than say Dorset, different league.

In reply to PTatts:

The trouble with Pembroke is that in September the army firing ranges will be in use, which means that if you camp at Bosherston you will usually need to drive to do any climbing on weekdays.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Rock yes, scenery and routes more debatable. It takes a good route to be in a "different league" to Ocean Boulevard, Mars, Behemoth, etc.

The issue with West Penwith is going to be partners, I would have thought. If that problem is soluble then I'd be inclined to agree with you.

jcm

In reply to John2:

Not necessarily. You'd need to drive to get to Mother Carey's (although hitching a lift would be easy, and finding partners in the pub/cafe would probably not be too hard.)

You can walk to Mowing Word, Raming Hole, Stackpole etc quite easily, and there's loads to go at at those venues and o bird bans in Sept. If range east is shut then St Govans and Trevallen are usually still open. The range sometimes opens up after lunch as well.

In reply to biabarida:

If you have an ab rope, and a shunt. Partners become optional.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


Uhhhhhhhh nnnnooooo!!!

Yes, I do agree that Pembroke is amazing and wonderful, with fantastic climbing. But so is Cornwall. All those azure seas, ochre, glowing rock, the sea pinks nodding, the seals nosing.

Those sharp crystals of granite, the jamming, the dark zawns, waves booming, green fur warm to the touch...

Maybe Pembroke suits your climbing style better?

but in Cornwall, you don't have the firing range to worry about, and you also get the clotted cream, the beach bum culture and, and.... it's CORNWALL!!! It is the essence of delight!

In reply to tlm:

I think we were actually comparing Swanage and Cornwall, not Pembroke and Cornwall.

OK, maybe I'll give you 'scenery' as well, though Swanage and the Square & C have their own appeal too. But the best routes at Swanage are pretty good, I still maintain.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

*Shakes head in despair*

Swanage????

Nice fossils, I'll grant you. And I do have fond memories of my first trip there.... those were the days...

I think it just must depend on the individual, but I most certainly would recommend Cornwall over Swanage if anyone ever wanted my opinion... I have yet to choose to go on a weeks holiday to Swanage. It's more weekend territory.

In reply to biabarida:

If you came to Scotland, the new guide for the Inner Hebrides and Arran is out, most access on those islands is by foot once you get off the ferry and the climbing is superb, with potential for some early repeats and gap filling. The weather in September can be variable though, so alternate plans are required. Usually if the weather is poor somewhere in the UK, there is a dry patch somewhere else, so you need to keep an open mind...

In reply to biabarida:

If you can climb those really long cracks in Utah you will find almost any crack climb in the UK ridiculously easy as they don't last very long. Possible exception is Fairhead in Northern Ireland (Indian Creek by the sea) but that's not easy to get to.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


Well, the guy's local cliffs are Indian Creek. Climbing at Swanage after that would be like dumping Penelope Cruz to go on the pull in a market town nightclub after midnight.

In reply to seankenny:

Well, he's not dumping Indian Creek, is he? It's just a fling. I can imagine Swanage providing much of the excitement one is looking for in such circumstances.

jcm

In reply to biabarida:

Head for West Cornwall. Reasonably easy hitch. Landscape is great. Solid rock. World class. You can bivvy at the crags if you do it in a way that no one can see you.

Put a shout out on this forum for some partners when you have dates.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Well yes, he's swapping class for excitement

More seriously, to the OP, I would consider getting a half-rope for this bit of your trip. I'm not convinced American single rope technique is all that, even on many pretty straightforward granite lines (I mean in the routefinding sense), and UK sea cliff routes usually wander about a lot. In a similar vein, swap a few of your draws for extendable runners.

In reply to seankenny:




Good point Sean. I'd say either half ropes, or all alpine draws.

To the OP, is that UK 6a/b or French?

In reply to seankenny:

Brilliant

In reply to biabarida:

Go to Ireland and check out, Fairhead in the north and Ailladie in the West in a place called Burren.

In reply to biabarida:

Hi Biabarida,

My goal for this year is to start climbing round the sea stacks of England. Never done any and I don't have a trad rack, but I do have a car!! And loads of slings and quick draws, rope, etc. And I can handle boats (for the ones that you need a boat to access). So this could be a mutually beneficial thing.

I had recently started building up a list of all the stacks in the UK, with access details, etc, so I could share as I go, if you like. In the meantime, this is very helpful..... http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=25

But you would have to pass my rigorous "Are you safe to climb with?" test first. I'll PM you the first 100 questions to be starting with ..................

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

I could never dump Indian Creek! She is my light, my life!

In reply to seankenny:

You make a good point. Unfortunately half ropes doesn't really work logistically because I will be doing a lot of sport climbing as well during the trip. Thanks for letting me know about the meandering lines. I will bring some slings and break down my quickdraws for this part of the trip.