UKC

I'm going to be on holiday in Woolacombe next week. There won't be a huge amount of time available, but it'd be nice to take my brother and his family climbing if we get a chance.

Can anyone suggest a crag? I'm looking for:

* short-ish walk-in and somewhere pleasant for the rest of the family to sun themselves
* a couple of easy (Diff or VDiff) routes - we won't have time for loads of climbing, so I don't need more than two or three appropriate routes, really
* something mega-easy like a 10 foot mod slab for the four-year-old to play on a toprope

Any thoughts?

Cheers
Jamie

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

My first thought is that the Culm coast is not for novices!

I'm sure someone will be able to suggest somewhere suitable though, good luck.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

I've never been there, but I believe this is one of the easier Culm coast venues - Vicarage Cliff
As you can read, it's not very ideal at all.

What about driving down to Dartmoor for the day? Definitely beginner friendly, although 1hr 45min drive might be a bit much.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
Valley of Rocks?

It's a fairly enclosed valley containing two small crags - The Devil's Cheesewring and Castle Rock; the latter is probably most suitable. The valley's north containing ridge has a rocky crest with a few climbs on the other side, above a steep drop to the sea; a narrow coastal path runs beneath these routes, with more serious fare on the underlying seacliff. At the lower end of the valley you can descend a steep path to the beach in Wringcliff Bay, although the climbs down there are all fairly hard and some have specific access arrangements.

Not Culm, obviously, but possibly a bit nearer in the opposite direction.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
Thanks, all. I've been looking through the crags on UKC and my copy of West Country Climbs, and it does all look a bit tricky. You'd have thought there'd be an easily accessible diff or two somewhere!

Edit: Ian, that looks like it might well be our best option. Thanks.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

I used to use Compass Point for instructing back in the mid 80's, but maybe it has fallen down by now?

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Here's a possibility, just north of Bude - can't remember how long the walk in is, but it's along a beach and scenic

http://www.javu.co.uk/Climbing/NewRoutes/Kleptomaniac_Northcott.pdf

I think you might find some easy slabs at Widemouth bay, which is good for surfing, body-boarding etc

As others have said, Culm Coast can be quite awkward. Vicarage Bay and Gull Rock have easy routes, but the access is a bit tricky.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

I'm assuming you haven't overlooked Baggy, which will of course be around the corner.

Downsides of Baggy: the 'easy' climbs are mostly S to HS, so a bit harder than you are looking for, and it is a bit of a 20+ min slog up the hill (but not bad by Culm Coast standards!). Most of the 'proper' climbing is quite tall (20-30m) and ab-in, although as friendly as that will ever be (or you can just lower and then top-rope from the top). The bit on the Promontory is the place to go if you have been before (Ben, Marion, In Her Eyes etc); the coast path goes right past it. I'm also not sure there are any small slabs for the toddler in convenient places; there is stuff in Slab Cove that might be OK but it looks horribly tidal and walk-in access is probably far too exciting given the tidal nature... There is plenty of odd short rock along the beach and along the coast path on the way to the crag but it's all fairly spiky and not very slabby... And the tidal range is VERY large, being the N Devon coast, although some of the ledges the routes start on are not very tidal (I don't remember how tidal the Promontory ledge is though) so you are often OK quite a way from low tide and usually get a good long day's climbing in.

However, non-climbers can enjoy the popular surfing beach or the various bits of coast along the walk-in (I have had a BBQ on the tidal bits before; there are some paths down to the rock in places). It at least has the advantage that it isn't really remote - the walk-in starts near enough by the beach in Croyde which has all the usual seaside paraphernalia.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:
Screda Point, Screda Point walk in at low tide, cafe and pub at Hartland Quay.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Thanks, all. Yes, I'd looked at Baggy, but tidal plus abseil made me think there were just too many ways for it to get interesting! I won't have too much time to play with, and no opportunity to scope things out before I have the family in tow, so I might take the safest-looking option of Valley of Rocks...

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Crooklets was good. Access from beach, not too many spectators, Easy scramble off the back, nice slabby angle, single pitch. Topo and description on UKC crag page. Crooklets