UKC

Which area has better climbing or is near to good climbing, cardiff/bristol or manchester/leeds area.
Thanks

In reply to jake232:

Ive lived in both, i would say there is a much greater choice in manchester than in bristol, as you can get to north wales, the lakes, yorkshire moors and the peak district all within 2 hours, with most of the peak within an hour and a number of grit quarries for your after work quick fix.

Bristol has a good amount, though often fairly polished limestone (avon gorge, cheddar gorge, and the wye valley). but then you can get to dartmoor, cornwall, portland/swanage and the gower all fairly easily too, so its fine for long weekends.

In reply to jake232:
Manchester is within an hour of loads of quality grit. Leeds is closer to some good grit, but not as much, perhaps. Leeds is close to hard limestone sport and trad. Peak lime is quite close to Manchester too. Lake District, North Wales and Gogarth are within two hours of Manchester. Leeds is closer to the lakes.

Don't know so much about Cardiff and Bristol, but there is climbing within Bristol and all around that area of England. I don't think there is much climbing near to Cardiff, but Ogmore is towards Swansea and there is more in that direction. Pembrokeshire is a quality destination which can't be more than two hours from Cardiff and Cornwall might be less than two hours from Bristol. Not sure.

I'd choose Manchester if I could.

In reply to Cake:


Erm.....


There's all the South Wales valleys limestone and sandstone near Cardiff. And there's Ogmore which is by Bridgend. And the Wye Valley is an evening hit too. Plenty in range.

Gower is by Swansea, as is Dinas and other places.
Pembroke probably is 2 hours from Cardiff.
The near end of Cornwall might be, Penzance is unlikely to be 2 hours from Bristol unless you're really really going some (>3 on google maps)!

As for Bristol, you've got Avon in the city itself, and Wye, Cheddar, Mendips all an easy day trip. North Devon, Dartmoor and Portland a further day trip for the motivated.

In reply to jake232:

The question should read "Do you prefer Limestone or Grit?" answer that and you'll know where to head.

In reply to jake232:

The latter is slightly better for Scottish winter trips, though still poor!

In reply to jake232:

Both have a comparable amount of metres of climbing within say an hour, but apart from the rock type difference, one is mainly sea cliffs and quarries, the other hills & moorland(note; limestone in the Dales too, so not just Grit), so you need to factor in the number of days the weather would allow good climbing and not just surviving.

However, Leeds/Manc, massively more central for heading to the Lakes, N Wales, Scotland, Northumberland... they aren't on your door step, but easily do-able for regular weekends.

In reply to jake232:

Having lived and climbed in both areas I would take cardiff over Manchester any time. The quality of life outside of climbing is so much better in cardiff. In the summer you can also be on the beach in 20 minutes.

In reply to Cake:

I'm not convinced Leeds is closer the Lakes than Manchester, not in time anyway. Although I guess it does rather depend if you are starting from the northern suburbs, centre or southern suburbs.

In reply to Anoetic:

But this isn't a comparison between Cardiff and Manchester, great places though they both are. Bristol and Leeds, both more affluent in many ways, are in the mix, not to mention the great countryside in between, much of it, in the case of the northern cities, a combination of National Park, AONB and SSSI.

The clincher for me, as for several others on the thread, is the access to other National Parks. From my home halfway between Leeds and Manchester, the Dales are 30 mins away, the Peak 45 mins, SE Lakes is 1.5 hours, N Wales 2.5 hrs, NY Moors 1.5 hours. And Scotland is only 2 hours from home. And still all of Yorkshire grit is on my doorstep, with two classic crags within a half hour walk. Granted it's miles from the sea, but I hate beaches.

In reply to Anoetic:

I've lived in Bristol and in the Peak, and I'd choose Bristol over Manchester as a place to live. Technically more choice of climbing (ie grit) locally in the Peak, but Bristol has a crag within walking distance of the city centre, and better weather. I know it's heresy but personally I'd take the SW and South Wales coastal climbing, Cheddar, Wye Valley and Dartmoor as a convenient hinterland over Wales and the Lakes.

Plus Bristol is a much cooler place culturally.

In reply to jake232:
If you like bouldering at all, this is a no brainer. Go North. I love Bristol and the climbing around there, but there is a lack of decent bouldering until you get to dartmoor. Other than that, I pretty much agree with what others have said.

In reply to The Ivanator:


Why? from Manchester or Leeds you can easily get to both.

In reply to pec:

And if you know the whereabouts of PylonKing's secret Somerset gritstone crag then both are in easy reach of Bristol too.
Despite plenty of Peak Limestone the point is still valid - if Grit outcrops are your thing head North, if Limestone and seacliffs float your boat the South West is the place.

In reply to The Ivanator:

But don't forget Manchester and Leeds are close to the Yorkshire Dales which apparently has a bit of limestone and Manchester is close enough to Clwyd and North Wales limestone (if limestone seacliffs is specifically what you want) for these to viable evening venues in summer.