UKC

Hi fellas and gals!

Moving to the UK in about three weeks. Originally from Norway, been living in Australia for almost two years. Probably going to be living in London for at least a year before I look for something smaller, but before I settle in and look for work and a long term place to stay, I'd like to go on a little camping/bouldering trip. From my research, heading to Sheffield and catching a bus to the Peak District and camping at North Lees Campsite for a couple of weeks is the coolest option I found.

Any tips, people up for introducing me to some of the bouldering in the area / meeting up to climb, etc, any contribution would be greatly appreciated!

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:
The best bouldering in the area could not be easier - a stroll up the hill from the campsite takes you to the Stanage Plantation. A slightly longer walk takes in the Burbage Valley: Burbage North, South and West and Higgar Tor.

If you want to take in the best of the Peak grit bouldering you'll be wanting to take a trip to Cratcliffe/Robin Hood's Stride at some point, and also over to Staffordshire. If you want to take in the best grit bouldering anywhere, a trip to Yorkshire could also be on the cards.

More specific lifts/partners posts on here a little closer to the time could be good for that.

If he doesn't reply on this thread, it might be worth dropping Nik (buxtoncoffeelover) an email. (You're quite likely to bump into him at the campsite anyway.) He is a man of many climbing partners.

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

Well worth buying the ROCKFAX bouldering guide to Eastern Grit

Enjoy


PS I assume that you'll shop by asking for lifts to the shops from other campers

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

Seeing as you were asking for tips and mentioned travelling by bus it is maybe worth mentioning that there is a train station in Hathersage which is serviced by trains between Manchester and Sheffield. The campsite is perhaps 15-20 mins walk from the station. Might work out an easier option if travelling by train from London.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search for times.

North Lees you might want to book (over the weekend esp.)rather than just turn up as it gets quite busy at times.

In reply to deepsoup & NoLegsMcGee

Thank you for the recommendation - best wishes to you from Lynn & me. Hope you are very well.
You will be very welcome to join me @ Stanage & other crags in the area (happy to collect you from campsite). Not so hot on the bouldering front, but I spend a lot of time with ropes & stuff (!) on the Edges. You can drag me up some harder routes once you've got your eye in. There may be some clash of dates (I'm in the Dolomites 5 - 15th June), but feel free to contact me when you are around. Nik

In reply to John Clinch (Ampthill):

What does that guidebook cover? Please note I am not familiar with the areas at all. Is there a bouldering specific guide to the whole of the Peak District? I'm fairly new to climbing still and have developed a habit to collect guidebooks to all the destinations I go to, hehe.

Thanks for all the tips, guys! I appreciate it. I will definitely post for meetups for bouldering when the date comes closer.

In reply to buxtoncoffeelover:

Hey, Nik! I'll be landing in London on the 6th of June, so I might not get use of your very kind offer, sadly. I'll be sure to let you know if I stay for longer than planned. I do sport climb occasionally, but bouldering is really where it's at for me. I've only been climbing for a little over a year, so my sport climbing is not super strong yet. Hoping to buy my own gear in the UK and get more into it, though! Also very curious about bouldering grades in the UK, as I am at about the 5-year-old stage as a boulderer yet, and care just a tad too much about grades, hehe. In a rush to get even more into it all, though. In my first year I've visited both Rocklands in South Africa and The Grampians in Australia. Overwhelmed by the sport (bouldering), in the best possible way

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

There are two bouldering-specific guides to the Peak District in print at the moment, "Peak District Bouldering" from Vertebrate Publishing and "Peak Bouldering" from Rockfax.

Re: grades, many guides use V-grades; some (like the Vertebrate guide) use Font grades. But they all have little tables to let you convert one to the other.

(And occasionally you'll see British tech grades too, which are a whole other beast ...)

They're not bouldering-specific, but I recommend having a glance at some of the BMC guidebooks as well if you're a guidebook geek like me and interested in the history of climbing in the various areas; the Stanage guide (for example) is a thing of beauty.

In reply to ultrabumbly:

The central bus interchange in Sheffield is just a few blocks from the train station. I've got the train from Sheffield to Hathersage on some occasions and the bus on others, and FWIW would rate them as equally easy and convenient, so I'd say go with whatever's going to fit best with your travel times (and be cheaper).

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:


London to Sheffield is only a couple of hours on the train (and I highly recommend megatrain.com for cheap tickets).

So if you fall in love with the gritstone, living in London won't rule out future trips.

In reply to slab_happy:

It was more that he can do it all on the same ticket and if coming from London he has the choice of a connection from Sheff or Manc which means more options. I think it is Euston for going via Manchester and St Panc for Sheff. There's generally a small number of cheaper advance tickets available for each route.

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

I mixed up two things in my last post. Apologies for that

Eastern Grit is the relevant ROCKFAX climbing guide and is both selective and only some the Peak District. This isn't the book that you want

"Peak Bouldering" is the whole Peak District but I think it least in some ways selective. This is the book I meant to recomend

It uses V grades on all problems. Font grades on harder problems UK grades on easier one

Here is a sample of the guide

http://www.rockfax.com/book-previews/peak-bouldering-preview/#/1/

Have a good trip

Living in London means mixing up venues more than Sheffield climbers would. Expect to enjoy climbing in Dorset, SW and Wales in the time to get to the Peak District +/- an hour. A varied diet is good for you and a benefit of living somewhere with no rock!

In reply to slab_happy:

Wow, the guide looks flawless! Cool, I'll be sure to pick up a copy. I might actually head to Sheffield to buy the guide along with a tent and other camping gear I'll need. Any tips for which camping shop to go to? Might even pick up a new pair of bouldering shoes. Need to get rid of a pair of Solutions that are too small and might go for something else. Thought about trying for something less aggressive anyway, because I won't be climbing V10 before I wear out my next pair anyway. Hehe!

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

There are multiple climbing/camping shops in Hathersage (where you'll get the bus or train from Sheffield to), e.g. http://www.outside.co.uk/ (who also do a mean panini). So you could just stop in along your way.

Oh, FYI: the walk from Hathersage to North Lees is lovely, but slightly tricky the first time you do it, as you're heading off across fields and round the edges of farms to weave your way up the hill. Admittedly I'm a nervous navigator, but unless you've got Google Maps, I recommend making yourself a little map of the route.

In reply to slab_happy:

^This.
Also, in Sheffield, there's a branch of Decathlon 10 mins walk from the railway station and a big 'Go Outdoors' a further 5 minute walk from there. For shoes you should also check out the tiny shop at the Climbing Works bouldering wall. (You're quite likely to want to check out the Works at some point anyway.)

In reply to slab_happy:

Thanks! That's a handy tip about the walk up there. From Google Maps it's not entirely obvious where to walk to get a straight line from Hathersage to North Lees, but I see that there's a 40 minute walk on the road around the west side that seems easy enough if I play it safe. Still just trying to work out how I'm going to pack light enough to take all my stuff with me from Australia and still be able to carry camping gear up to the campground and back out! I might get rid of some stuff before I leave and might have to buy more clothes and stuff once I've settled in.

Again, thanks heaps for all the tips! Makes planning a lot easier.

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:


It's one of those odd ones which is very simple -- once you've done it the first time.

It's been a year or so since I've done the walk to Stanage that way, but I dug out my map; I'm sure people will chip in if they know of easier routes.

From Hathersage, take Baulk Lane off the Main Road (on the north side, shortly after Coleman's Deli). Keep heading along it for some distance, past various buildings and through fields.

Just before the main path hits Cowclose Farm, a much fainter (but signposted, IIRC) footpath branches off left across a field. Follow it! It turns into a little lane (enclosed by hedges at one point) which wiggles around the the right side of Brookfield Manor, then turns north again.

Very shortly, it hits a small country road. Turn right along the road, and very soon you should see the signs for North Lees campsite.

In reply to slab_happy:

Thanks for taking the time to jot it down, I'll most likely look back at the post before I start the walk! First I have to pack up my stuff and move about 17,000 km before I can even worry about finding the campground

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

Good luck with the move! Let us know when you land at North Lees. *g*

In reply to NoLegsMcGee:

Don't forget the midge repellent.