In reply to Sl@te Head:
Quite a convenient alternative approach if you have a spare rope (or two) is to ab in from the vicinity of Watford Gap. The advantage is to much shorten the approach or descent so you can leave all your kit at the Combat Rock tunnel and not even bother with trainers (depending on how sensitive your feet are).
Not knowing any better we did Smaug by abbing in from the bolts by the edge just below the Combat Rock tunnel entrance: we thought this would be the way as they are equipped with rings. A 70 m rope just gets you down to the very bottom from these but the line goes over a big scree ledge 2/3 of the way down and there is a risk of the rope disturbing scree on to you on the lower 1/3 so this is not recommended. Better is to go from the far end (from the tunnel) of the rock tower that sticks up above the edge. There is only 1 bolt (Supermassive BH belay?) but it can be backed up. 100 m gets you right down with something to spare but 70 m gets you to the nearest of the pair of split tunnel entrances encountered on the walk in. It is a short scramble along the level and over the boulders from there.
A new mid-grade, 160-metre multi-pitch sport route that starts at the bottom of Twll Mawr has become the longest sport route in the UK. First ascensionists Harold Walmsley and Colin Struthers are yet to agree on a name for the climb, currently listed as Long in the Twll/The North is Rising and graded at 6c.
