UKC

Hello good peoples of the climbing community,
I am off with my family on a well deserved holiday to the other end of the land, Hartland in North Devon to be precise. As well as peddling along the Tarka trail I will also be taking my children climbing, my question of course is this; Where are the best spots? My children are six and nine years old so a nice safe base, single pitch, sheltered if possible and of course appropriate in difficulty (diffs, vdiffs, maybe straightforward to climb severe), sheltered would be even better, I'm asking a lot now....
Your advice would be gratefully received,
Thanks!
Jb.

In reply to John Mcshea:

Perfect base Hartland John. The beach at Hartland Quay is great for kids, especially at low tide with sand, rock pools and some excellent scrambling/bouldering. Screda Point has some dramatic V Diff/Severe slab climbing on the most seaward of the "Shark's Teeth" pinnacles, but you do need to watch the tide. Northcott Mouth and Sandy Mouth nearer Bude combine traditional beach possibilities (both with lifeguards) and some great shortish routes on the various small stacks, The Horn of Plenty being a jugfest in great surroundings. Enjoy!

In reply to Iain Peters:

Sounds ideal Peter thanks for the advice.
Jb

In reply to Iain Peters:

Agree with Screda suggestion. The main slab is pretty tricky, lots of E1-ish standard, but non pumpy, easy to approach and ideal for TR-ing. Some easier grades at the v tidal seaward end but looser rock encountered.

We also went to Vicarage, which is a friendly crag with a bunch of easier grades, but the approach is a gnarly long slide down mud slope with insitu handrope and it is more tidal than the 6h window in rockfax suggested. Would recommend for a 6y old.

In reply to Owen W-G:




Yes it's a shame that Vicarage is not more accessible, although I did take my youngsters there some years back and they found the boulder hopping/wading escape much more exciting than the climbing!

All is not lost however, as a number of easier, shorter slab routes have been recently discovered and details can be found on the relevant section of the CC New Routes web pages and on Javu. Might be worth a look, and they will be included in the next edition of the CC definitive guide to the region which is currently being compiled.

Perhaps not appropriate for John Mcshea on this trip, but there has been considerable development on The Lizard coast with excellent routes across the entire grade spectrum. The guide to The Lizard and the rest of W Cornwall should be out next year.

In reply to Iain Peters:

Final sentence is supposed to read:

Would NOT recommend for a 6y old.

In reply to everyone.
Thanks everybody, we had a great time, the venue was really good for the kids, loads of slabs, beautiful pebbly and rock pool beaches below. And just for info the campsite at stoke Barton farm is really good and just a short walk through the fields to Hartland quay.
Cheers,
Jb.

In reply to John Mcshea:

If it is the campsite I remember the cafe does the biggest cream teas I have ever seen. Also the church opposite is worth a wander round.

In reply to BigBrother:

That campsite has stopped doing the cream teas

In reply to John Mcshea:

I spent many a holiday on Hartland Point as a child, camping in a cowfield with no water or toilets or other tents. We used to just play on the beach all day long. When I say beach, of course, I simply mean a collection of rocks and pools. It was a bit of an adventure getting down there at all, until my dad built some steps into the banks out of stones one year. One year, they forgot to book the cat into a kennel, so just stuffed him in the car (not in a box!) and took him to visit the cows in our field! One day, we found a pallet and played at rafts, and came back to the tent covered in bruises and cuts and telling our parents that we had been attacked by sharks.... I'm not sure that any of it was safe or appropriate!