Caley is without a doubt one of the iconic bouldering venues of Yorkshire; a hillside scattered with boulders of premium Wharfedale grit, small and large, offering problems of all grades. The climbing is mostly of a technically demanding nature, with quick access via the A660 Leeds road; it's so good it would be top of the list of most Peak climbers if they had to name a Yorkshire crag to steal and transport further south.

Scattered across the north-east facing hillside, Caley is broadly divided into two areas; Caley Roadside, and Caley Crag. The latter is the jumble of blocks scattered below the trad outcrop furthest from the A660 lay-by parking, with some crag-based problems thrown in for good measure, while the Roadside boulders are more of a pure boulder oriented area just over the wall from the parking, although the blocks are tall enough to offer trad routes too. A well-used track links the two sectors in 5-10 minutes' walk. Both sectors unfortunately sport a proliferation of old chipped holds, but the main quality here lies in the entirely natural problems, with bold faces, grooves and arêtes dominating, tall nerve-jangling pebble-pulling and weird chickenhead rugosities being a local speciality. There are also a few classic steep power problems thrown in too, but whatever you do bring good technique and thick skin, as it will be tested.

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If you wish to explore Caley Bouldering free of charge, download the app via the links below.

Although the development of Caley for bouldering comfortably pre-dates the advent of bouldering pads, visitors today will get a lot more out of their day by visiting as a small team with two or three pads and spotters for support. However, there are still plenty of lower lines and traverses for a solo visit, or those days when you're just not feeling the highball energy.

Thanks to the northeasterly aspect and the shade offered by the tree cover (at Caley Crag area in particular) climbing is possible here all year round as long as you set your objectives accordingly. Best winter conditions can be found after a day of dry weather, but watch the forecast for the wind direction, as it can be bitterly cold here with a northerly wind, since it gets little winter sun. At least it's not far to retreat to the car to re-warm.

If there's a fly in Caley's ointment, it's that in recent years the level of vegetation and tree cover has increased markedly compared to when the crag's bouldering reputation was cemented in the 1970s–1990s. As a result, a lot of great circuit problems have been reclaimed by lichen and moss, and the whole place is a lot greener than it ever was, leading to something of a vicious cycle where traffic becomes concentrated on a handful of permanently-chalked problems, increasing wear on those while other boulders lay fallow. As such, the future of a lot of the circuit problems lies in regular concerted cleaning efforts by locals.

Left Roadside

The left side of the Roadside area, over the wall from the Leeds end of the long lay-by, is many people's first encounter with Caley. Although it's tempting to plough straight on up the hill to the big name problems around the Great Flake area, there are still some gems right across the grade spectrum to be sampled hereabouts in relative peace, if you can ignore the road noise. It is also home to the huge highball pebble-pulling horror shows of the To Be Is Not To Bolt buttress; all originally given E-grades as routes, and only slightly tamed by modern bouldering pad tactics. It's worth throwing a brush, a short static rope and a harness in the car if they've not had recent traffic – check for recent logged ascents on UKC beforehand.

Not My Stile (f6C+)
Ullola (f8B)
Death Drop 2000 (E4 6b)
To Be is Not To Bolt (E6 6c)
Rough Rib (Right) (f5+)
The Groove (f7A)

Right Roadside

The right side of the Roadside area is really the main event here, with some standout problems which are up there with the best in Yorkshire (and hence the world). We're talking old-school technical classics, pebble pulling, modern power problems and trouser-filling highballs/solos. There are also plenty of quality easier lines with flat landings too making it a great spot for beginners or just to get the blood flowing on a cold day.

High Fidelity (f8B)
Ben's Groove Sit Start (f7C+)
Syrett's Saunter/Pebble Wall (f7B+)
The Rocking Groove (f6C)
Chicken Heads (f5)
Forked Lightning Crack (f6B)

Caley Crag Uphill

From the Otley end of the long lay-by, a wide track emerges from the woods; this track can be followed to reach the main Caley Crag area, where boulder problems on the crag are tucked in alongside trad routes, whilst the jumble of blocks below the crag offer great problems of all sizes. On the uphill side of the track, the massive cubes of Suckers Wall and Boot Crack dominate, and provide some tall challenges, but even the smaller blocks offer real quality, so there's something for everyone. As ever, the line between bouldering and soloing is often blurred here.

Roof of the World (V1)
The Pinch (f6C)
Rick's Rock (E4 6b)
The Prow (f7A+)
Ranieri's Reach (f8A)
One Man and His Dogmas (E5 6b)

Caley Crag Downhill

On the downhill side of the main track, the boulder field is dominated by the huge block of The Sugar Loaf, right by the track. But spread all the way down the slope are innumerable smaller blocks of top quality gritstone offering an especially good range of mid-grade problems to discover, making it a superb spot to make your own Font-style circuit, weaving around through the trees, without having to worry about straying into nervy soloing territory. Some blocks are occasionally reclaimed by moss and lichen, so bring a brush and some patience if you're going off-piste. But be sure to not forget about The Drey.

Cream Egg Eliminate (f7A)
Mr. Smooth (f6A)
Pine Tree Arete (f6C+)
Scone Centre (f5+)
The Horn (f6B)
The Drey (f7B+)

Guidebook

Caley's bouldering is (or will be) covered in the Rockfax Digital app. The most recent print guide is the YMC's Yorkshire Gritstone Volume 1 from 2012 and Northern Rock from 2022, both of which cover the trad climbing but also have extensive bouldering content. If you can find one second-hand the 1999 Rockfax Yorkshire Gritstone Bouldering coverage still holds up remarkably well for the long-established classics.

Other Areas

Almscliff is usually regarded as the default fallback option nearby, a mere five miles' drive away. But the reality is you don't even have to go that far, as the escarpment line which Caley is part of continues west, known locally as The Chevin, with The Satellite Boulder's Swiss-style problems (when clean and dry), being pretty much walking distance from Caley Crag. Further west the main Chevin Buttress has Like A Hurricane (f7C+) to delight fans of steep hard roof climbing, and further west again a good circuit can be had in the open woodland of the West Chevin Boulders.

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