UKC

Hey Guys,

so I posted here a while ago saying Im a Kiwi that is coming over for some climbing, I now have a fixed date, I arrive start of october,

now, as ambitious as I may be after a long flight, my plan is to get off the plane, then myself and a friend, that is already in England, want to go climbing that day!
I fly into heathrow at about 8am, what is the closest sports crag to heathrow that is at least semi-decent?

looks like if the weather is bad, I will head to "white spider climbing centre" for some indoor climbing
however Ideally as said, I would love to get straight onto some real rock!!!

we should have access to a car, would rather drive a bit to get to a decent spot than something super close but average!

so any crag ideas would be great to hear! again, sports leed climbing crags is what Im after

Thanks

In reply to NZClimber:

You'll be driving at least 2 hours from Heathrow to get any real rock (even the sandstone SE of London could take 2 hours to get to if the traffic is bad).

Portland (near Weymouth) would be an option and is mostly (all?) sport. 2.5-3hrs drive. Peak District has limestone sport and is about 2.5-3hrs drive north. Also look into Cheddar Gorge - about 2-2.5 hours west of London.

In general, UK sport climbing is bad below F6a, some stuff in the F6a-F6c+ range, and gets interesting once you hit F7a (23-ish in Ewbank grades). The better easier lines have been claimed as trad routes long before sport climbing came about.

Also consider the weather - October could be ok, or end up really cold/wet.

In reply to NZClimber:
Hi, you can climb from Heathrow airport in about three hours. You can travel south-west to Portland which is coastal sport climbing, or head North to Peak limestone which is an inland area. If you're climbing below 7a Portland would be better, above 7a head North. Actually scrap that, our weather is fickle, Google the forecasts when you get off the plane and head to whichever one is dry.
They're both about 2.5 hours away for you

Edit: pretty much what turtlespit said

Thanks for the help guys

I realise the weather will play a huge part of it this!

as for grades, Im trying to get my head around it all, so is your 7a the same as a europe 7a? (or close enough to) I have heard people say you drop a number grade in the UK....

my friend that Im climbing with will be the weaker climber at around 21 (6b ish???) and after a 35 hour flight I probably wont be at my strongest either.

In reply to NZClimber:

Coming from NZ to UK in October..... hmm, you can straight away catch the underground and go to the Westway for indoor climbing because its gonna be too wet and too cold....

Is the weather going to be THAT bad through the winter for bouldering and climbing?

In reply to NZClimber:

Re: grading - in the UK, sports climbs are graded using french grades (i.e. F6a, F6a+, etc). They're the same grades used on the continent, though style may make them feel easier or harder.

There's also UK tech grades which are 5a, 5b, 5c, etc (no pluses), but these are only applied to trad grades now (along with the overall difficulty - HVS, E1, etc).

I used to live in Sydney, so the general guide conversion from Aus Ewbank is: 18 - F6a, 23 - F7a, 25 - F7b. It's a little inexact around the F6b+ to F6c+ (21-22) range.

I managed to climb in the Peak last October for a handful of days (probably would have been more if I didn't have to work). It is hit and miss though, and helps if you can switch to Grit bouldering or trad (no bolts on grit) since the grit crags generally dry faster with wind (though you have to endure the temperature drops).

In reply to NZClimber:

We can have some decent October weather in the UK, but head south and it will be that little bit warmer.

In reply to NZClimber:

If in the Peak District and raining heavily,head for New Mills Torrs,near Stockport.Very often totally dry in rain,with tree cover and routes overhang. 25 metres,quarried grit with some classic lines.Harder routes very pumpy.

In reply to NZClimber:
Often the start of October is often pretty good weather, however by the end when my birthday is, its extremely common for it to be wet and windy, the number of birthdays its been sunny in my life I could probably count on the fingers of one hand! It's a shame you aren't arriving 4 weeks earlier as (especially early to mid) September and may are probably the most reliable months for climbing in the UK.

It would pay if you can be very flexible with destination and move to where ever the best forecasts are. One thing to bare in mind is that south facing sea cliffs tend to feel warm if its sunny (and the wind is down or over the top of the crag) all year around. Also it does tend to rain less right on the coast.

If you are after only bolted climbing really you're coming to the wrong country(s), I see from you previous post you are after climbing in the mid F7's. Atleast we cater for that better than the mid 6's. Portland is a good call IMO, there is also a fair amount of bolted climbing at those grades in Swanage (and its not all in quarries but may require abseil desents).

Other areas to consider include Pen Trwyn and also N / Mid wales. There is also a fair amount of good sport climbing in Yorkshire and the peak. Look up places like malham, giggleswick, kilnsey etc

The advanced crag search feature is your friend http://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/map/

Cheers
Stevo

In reply to NZClimber:

Dorset (Portland and Swanage) typically has more sun and warmth than other UK climbing areas. Portland has over 1500 bolted lines and is without doubt the best British Sport venue for those operating in the 6a - 7a range. The best of the climbing is mostly on the West Coast, the Coastguard, Wallsend, Battleship and Blacknor cliffs hold lots of great lines. The Rockfax Dorset guide http://www.rockfax.com/climbing-guides/all/dorset-2012/ is the most up to date guide for the area.

In reply to NZClimber:


Weather is a pain at times, but more often than not in recent years we've had some good stable weather in September & October. To be honest its just a matter of watching forecasts.... I've been known to be bouldering or climbing grit when there's snow on the ground.

In reply to NZClimber:

The best easy grade sports climbing within three hours of Heathrow is of course in France and Spain. Climbing 6as on Portland in October is, ahem, almost certainly not quite as good as climbing 6as in the Verdon or at Siurana in October. If you're here for family and to hang out in the UK, then no worries, if you're here purely on a climbing trip then I'd seriously think about going elsewhere.

You might have really good luck with the weather - October can be wonderful - but that can depend on a careful reading of the weather forecast, and some local knowledge definitely helps if dry rock is in short supply.

In reply to NZClimber:

How long are you in the u.k?

as to how long I plan to be over for,
well, I have a 5 year Visa and intend to spend as long as I can over there, I think I will spend the first 3-4 months in England to earn some Pounds so I don't get destroyed by the exchange rate..... then head to Europe once the weather warms up!
So I do realize that Europe is the better climbing spot, but I think I will find better chance to get some work and money in the UK

So I was thinking of basing myself in sheffield but from what you all say the further south the better?

Also I do Trad as well, but my gear wont be meeting me for a couple months later

Thanks everyone for the help too! looking forward to checking out this Grit climbing!

In reply to NZClimber:

If you land at LHR at about 8, you won't be out before 9. From there, your best bet is straight down the M4 to Wintours Leap or Ban-y-gor. That will take you a bit over an hour and a half from there. You should be on the rock by 11 or 11:30, which should give you some climbing until about 5-ish. Portland would take too long. Wintours Leap probably the best bet for dry rock

In reply to NZClimber:


You what?! The UK may be a small country, it may have small mountains, it may have crap weather and the sports climbing may by and large be crap, but given all that it has the most amazingly varied trad climbing - from gritstone edges, to high mountain crags in Wales, the Lakes and Scotland, to stunning seacliffs. All within a fairly compact area.


I think you may have been influenced in thinking further south by people trying to give you options for close to your point of arrival. Sheffield is very close to the grit edges and is I suppose fairly central for accessing Wales, the Lakes and heading further North. Students who climb tend to base themselves in either Sheffield or somewhere like Bangor (N Wales - which has a huge variety of climbing in a relatively small location).

In reply to NZClimber:


If you get the weather next spring, get yourself up to Bonny Scotland, mate! Great mountain routes (many 3-4 pitch, but some longer) and lovely quick-drying cragging as a Plan B (if weather isn't quite playing ball!).

M

In reply to Skyfall:

Britain's 'high mountain crags' are lower than you usually park in the Alps and are rarely more than 100m long.
Gritstone is oversized bouldering :P (I can't believe anybody from France used to 300m+ multipitch sport routes, endless overhanging limestone for the strong, 4000m peaks and multi-km alpine routes really gets that excited about doing laps on 8m sandstone routes?)
Sea cliffs perhaps we stand up well, as we have a lot of coastline and they rarely get that big anywhere, but I'm sure there are bigger and better elsewhere.

We make the most of what we have, and we do very well in that regard, but there will usually be something better somewhere else...

Back on topic: there is plenty of sports climbing in North Wales (although probably fewer jobs). Only been to the slate once but it was great fun, and more importantly (in North Wales) dries super-quick!

In reply to Skyfall: Living in the south is also going to cost considerably more money, and that won't necessarily be reflected in the wages you get.

In reply to andrewmcleod:


Have you not been to Scotland? Lots of mountain crags at about the right length for a technical climbing day trip (ie 200+ meters)

In reply to nniff:

thats awesome advice on Wintours leap or Ban-y-gor

so from what I see, there is a mix of trad and sports routes. little hard to understand from the UKC crag info

are they different areas for the sports and the trad? I will be only doing Sports first day

again, thank you for the all your advice and help! looking forward to getting there and checking this out for myself

In reply to NZClimber:

Most of what has been described to you is trad.

If you are only doing sport climbing on the first day, then Portland will be the obvious destination. Depending on traffic you will be looking at about 3 hours drive.

There is, on the whole, a lot more trad than sport in the UK, and yes, they tend to be different areas. Sport tends to have been developed in areas where the rock is not really suitable for trad eg lacking much in the way of natural protection.

I admire your enthusiasm to go climbing the day you arrive. Won't you be completely spaced out with jet lag!?

Check the weather because if we are getting an October gale it will be a waste of time driving down there - go to the White Spider instead.

Good luck and enjoy!

In reply to Trangia:



yeah, looks like trad is a big thing in the UK.... which I am looking forward to! hopefully not as loose as our NZ rock!!

jet-lag is an issue for sure, but after so many months of planning and waiting.... I dont want to waste time before climbing!

white-spider looks very cool to, so much bigger than any gyms we get in NZ so even that will be exciting!

since this thread has gone in all kinds of directions, I may as well ask here, would you expect it pretty easy to find work in Shefield? labouring or idealy something in a climbing gym

In reply to NZClimber:


Do you realise how f***ing irresponsible you are to contemplate driving after getting off a long flight? If you wipe out yourself and some innocents, don't say you weren't warned.

In reply to silhouette:

Im not driving.... I will be meeting up with friends that are picking me up.....
To add to that, for those safety sam's out there..... nor will I intend to belay.... I dont intend on putting mine or anyone elses safety at risk!

its a bold call for me to climb while jet-lagged but I have and do think this things through also

In reply to NZClimber:

You need to direct your question about working in Sheffield to someone who lives up there ! I live in the south and haven't a clue about work opportunities in the north.

You may find it difficult without a work visa, particularly in a gym where you will also need climbing instructing qualifications.

In reply to NZClimber:

Personally, and after a long flight, I'd go to Wintours. If it's a nice day then whatever takes your fancy. Woodcroft Quarry is the easiest to find and easiest to get to. Then there are the sport routes along the bottom of Great Overhanging Wall and further along to the left around Microserf. If you want a 'I can't think to hard about this' start then start at Woodcroft, see if you wake up and take it from there. Sport and trad all mixed up on the main crag, but Woodcroft is mostly sport.

Nothing wrong with Ban-y-gor. I'm not really a sport climber and so default to Wintour's. Could be lovely on a nice Autumn day though.

In reply to NZClimber:

I can see the reduced journey time sense in heading for a Wye Valley crag over Portland, although the choice and quality of the Sports lines don't really compete.
Hopefully not a big issue by October, but insect repellent can be useful at Wintour's and Ban Y Gor. Wintour's is largely a trad crag and there are not that many good Sports climbs to be honest. Agamemnon (6c) on the L side of North Wall is a decent 6c. There are some harder things on Go Wall that are meant to be good, but outside my grade. Most of the Sport is concentrated in Woodcroft quarry which is not the most auspicious part of the crag, Still Nice and Still Sleazy (6a+) is a worthwhile 6a+ though.
Ban Y Gor is largely a Sport venue, slightly neglected, so the routes can get a little vegetated, but there is some good climbing to be had there, on the main crag sector Muddy Waters (6a) is a pleasant warm up, Heady Days (6b+) is a treat at 6b+, there are also multi starred harder lines such as Pet Cemetery (7a) and Almost Me (7c). Ban Y Gor is a little tricky to navigate on first acquaintance, but if you are armed with both the 2007 Climbers Club Lower Wye guide and the 2012 Supplement (sold together these days) then you should do OK.
In terms of indoor options Reading Climbing Centre is also a good bet - out of London on the M4, if the sun is shining keep going to the crags, otherwise satisfy yourself with an indoor session.

In reply to nniff:


Hmmmm, after a 35hr flight and seriously jetlagged, I'm not sure polished trad limestone in October would be the ideal intro to UK climbing. Might we see the OP posting a thread on here along the lines of "How long does a broken ankle take to heal?"...! Plus I live in the south and don't go to Wintours very often as it's a bit ho-hum imho.

To the OP: whilst your enthusiasm is admirable, as you are beginning to gather climbing in the UK is perhaps not that obvious. Since you're here for a while, take your time, get over your jetlag, take some time to go to the best crags for the days you're climbing - British climbing is very conditions dependent, particularly from late autumn through to the spring.