UKC

Climbs 392
Rocktype Gritstone
Altitude 274m a.s.l
Faces N

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Piers heading into the crux © Bsmithprice

Crag features

Some fine rock with truly impressive climbs that follow strong features. Unfortunately it rises from a jungle/jumble of overgrown boulders. Once acquainted with the crag, the cognoscenti will know where to approach their chosen route. This is often best done by abseil giving you the opportunity to dust your chosen route and avoiding the necessity of navigating the hidden holes, boulders and vegetation that are found below the crag. A couple of very useful maps in the YG guide assist the location of climb tops. Persevere and you will be rewarded! Some climbs stay fairly clean and are easily restored to a climable state if not. These are mostly around Number 2 Buttres, Comet Wall and The Warriors of Hanuman.

The bouldering is extensive and many new problems and boulders have been added since the start of 2018. Development is ongoing. Despite the woodland location, these stay much cleaner than the crag. A guide on Unknownstones documents the great majority of them and provides helpful approach information.

Please note; the area is heavily vegetated and recent visited have yielded consistent encounters with ticks - take proper precautions and check yourself for unwanted passengers.

Approach notes

For the routes it is best to approach as for the large lay-by at the top of Nought Bank. The bouldering is also approaced from here or by the footpath that climbs to the tarn from Glasshouses. As stated, the guide on Unknownstones provides the best approach info.

Restricted Access

No access issues reported in recent years.

Seasonal Restrictions

Dates: 1 March to 30 June

Reason: Nesting Birds

The restriction applies to Buttresses 3-5 to protect nesting peregrines.

Visited today and did Comet Wall which needed no cleaning (start from the cave after scramble approach). Also Double Top which also needed no cleaning and is a classic brawl to top out (E1 5b probably). Went to finish up on Magnificat which was a bit grubbier but still climable (probably more like E1, its tough!) if you take the right route, unlike me.
Will Hunt - 16/May/14
Went for an explore today, and was pleasantly surprised. Given the poor reputation of the place, much of it looked fairly clean. North Buttress (which is probably where most people head for first) is by far the dirtiest, wettest, most vegetated of the main buttresses. I started at the far end. No 2 buttress looked particularly good (note, contrary to what the book says it is NOT directly below the mast, but a few hundred metres west (as per the sketch map). Roc's Nest Chimney on No 4 looked inviting, though appears to have nesting kestrels (or similar) at the moment. Hawk Slab (starred Severe on No 5) was invisible behind the vegetation, but the routes between Jezebel and Boundary Chimney all looked good and clean. I walked along the bottom of the crag, for its full length. From No 1 Buttress to the start of Long Wall, the going is mostly quite straightforward, though you have to watch out for big holes in places. From there to North Buttress Block was much less pleasant, but the final section to North Buttress is easy, with a well-worn path. I was on my own so just soloed 1.5 Diffs, but will definitely be back for more.
Simon Caldwell - 24/Jul/10
Very overgrown at the moment, making it difficult to find the top of routes, and to then probably climb them. Would give it a miss until Autumn ..... or spring!
Matt Bill Platypus - 28/Jul/08
Really only suitable for adventure botanists. The path below the crag is an adventure in itself. The crag could do with a clean-up and a lot more traffic but the north facing nature of it means that this is unlikely. Shame really, nice-looking climbs, lots of them and tall.
heidavey - 12/May/08
Sadly, this is not a good crag. Even the 3 star HVSs are sprouting heather all over the place, and seem to remain wet in places even after a long dry spell. The abseil descent necessary for many of the routes doesn't help either as you will probably find yourself committed to fighting your way back up something anyway. Insteading of heading here go to Eavestone, which is similar and nearby, but infinitely better.
jamiemoss - 12/Jun/06
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Climbs at this crag

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These climbs you have climbed clean.
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